CO 

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this  edition  of  the 

History  of  the  Manhattan  Club 

printed  on  fabriano  hand-made  paper  from  type 

during  the  month  of  december,  1915,  is  limited 

to  six  hundred  and  fifty  copies 

this  copy  is  number 

469 
PRINTED  FOR 

NEW  YORK  CLUB 


HISTORY  OF  THE 
MANHATTAN  CLUB 


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Copyright,  1916,  by 
THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 


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CONTENTS 


PAGE 

FOREWORD XV 


PRELUDE xix 

INTRODUCTORY xxiii 

CHAPTER  THE  FIRST 3 

A  Brief  Discussion  of  the  Origin  of  Clubs,  with  some  detailed 
Reference  to  the  Growth  of  "Political  Clubs"  in  this  Country 
— The  State  of  the  Democratic  Party  in  the  Summer  of  1865 
— The  actual  Beginning  of  the  Manhattan  Club— Patriotic 
Motives  of  the  Fotmders. 

CHAPTER  THE  SECOND 17 

The  First  Club-house— Early  Presidents  of  the  Club— "Prince 
John"  Van  Buren. 

CHAPTER  THE  THIRD 24 

"No.  96" — Customs  and  Laws— Douglas  Taylor— The  Fa- 
mous Trio— "Cadaverous  Ben" — Well-known  Members — The 
Bateman-Cranston  Incident. 

CHAPTER  THE  FOURTH 28 

The  Old  Benkard  House — Recollections  of  Mr.  Lyons — 
**Uncle  Dave"  Gilbert  and  General  Martin  T.  McMahon 
— Wilder  Allen,  the  Practical  Joker. 


M1S6213 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

PAOB 

CHAPTER  THE  FIFTH 35 

The  Old  Club— Public  Dinners  and  Receptions— Out-of-town 
Members  provided  for— Mortality  among  the  Club  Officials — 
The  Club  denounces  the  Use  of  Troops  in  Louisiana. 

CHAPTER  THE  SIXTH 44 

The  New  Club — Its  Articles  of  Incorporation — Arrangements 
for  the  Renewal  of  the  Leasehold— The  Formal  Acts  of 
Transfer. 


CHAPTER  THE  SEVENTH       48 

Club  Ups  and  Downs— Its  Long  and  Arduous  Financial 
Struggle— Grievous  Loss  by  Robbery— Final  Adjustment  of 
its  Money  Affairs. 

CHAPTER  THE  EIGHTH 54 

Early  Years  of  the  New  Club — Many  Constitutional  Changes 
and  a  Few  Receptions — The  Election  of  Grover  Cleveland  to 
the  Presidency — Deaths  of  Vice-President  Hendricks,  Gen- 
eral Hancock,  and  Governor  Seymour. 

CHAPTER  THE  NINTH 61 

Last  Years  in  the  Benkard  House — Removal  to  the  Stewart 
House,  called  the  "Whited  Sepulchre" — Memorials  of  Mr. 
Cleveland— Death  of  Mr.  Tilden. 

CHAPTER  THE  TENTH 68 

The  Stewart  House— Money  Troubles— Truax,  O'SuUivan, 
and  Rodie— "Uncle  Tom"  Miller— His  Tragic  End— Factions 
of  1896— Colonel  "Bill"  Brown— His  famous  Cleveland-Hill 
Dinner — His  Resignation  in  a  "Huff" — The  Reception  to 
Dewey — The  Admiral's  good  Memory. 

CHAPTER  THE  ELEVENTH 75 

Club  Proceedings  in  the  Stewart  House — A  Round  of  Recep- 
tions to  Gorman,  Van  Wyck,  and  Cleveland  and  Stevenson — 
Death  of  the  distinguished  Frederic  R.  Coudert. 

X 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  THE  TWELFTH 8a 

The  Stewart  House  a  "White  Elephant"— Removal  to 
Cheaper  Quarters  Imperative— Hunting  for  a  New  Club- 
house—The Final  Choice — A  Happy  Solution. 

CHAPTER  THE  THIRTEENTH 86 

Final  Proceedings — The  New  Century— Purchase  of  a  Per- 
manent Home — Celebration  of  the  Club's  Semi-Centenary 
under  Happy  Auspices. 

CHAPTER  THE  FOURTEENTH       90 

The  Club  Library — Mr.  James  Dunne,  Librarian  of  the  Man- 
hattan Club,  recalls  Literary  History — Gifts — Purchases — 
Rare  Volumes. 

CHAPTER  THE  FIFTEENTH 96 

The  contemporary  Manhattan  Club — Meeting  of  Old  and 
New — Present  Governors  of  the  Club  and  their  Records — 
The  President  and  Ex-Presidents — Prominent  Members — 
Some  Groups  within  the  Club — Thirty-year  and  Older  Mem- 
bers of  the  Club — Notable  Employees. 

CHAPTER  THE  SIXTEENTH 109 

The  Anniversary  Banquet — A  Memorable  and  Brilliant  Affair 
— President  Britt  presides  and  President  Wilson  outlines  an 
Administrative  Programme— Speeches  by  Judge  O'Brien, 
Mr.  Patrick  Francis  Murphy,  and  Mr.  Frank  Lawrence. 

L'ENVOI 127 


LIST  OF  PLATES 

PACING 
PAGE 

Facsimile  of  Original  List  of  Members  of  the  Club    .    .  xxii 

Woodrow  Wilson 4 

Samuel  J.  Tilden 10 

Grover  Cleveland 16 

Presidents  of  the  Club : 

John  Van  Buren,  1 865-1 866 22 

Augustus  Schell,  1866-1874 28 

August  Belmont,  1874-1879 36 

Aaron  J.  Vanderpoel,  1879-1886 44 

Frederic  R.  Coudert,  1 889-1 899 52 

Charles  H.  Truax,  1 899-1 906 58 

John  Hone,  1906-1908 64 

Morgan  J.  O'Brien,  1908-19 10 70 

Alton  B.  Parker,  1910-1911 76 

Victor  J.  Dowling,  191 1-1914 82 

Philip  J.  Britt,  1914- 88 

Smith  M.  Weed 94 

James  A.  O'Gorman «.     .  100 

xiu 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB  ^^^^^^ 

PAGE 

William  F.  McCombs io6 

James  W.  Gerard 112 

Francis  Burton  Harrison 118 

Henry  Watterson 124 

John  T.  Agnew 130 

Board  of  Governors  of  Manhattan  Club 136 

Fiftieth  Anniversary  Dinner,  November  4,  1915    .     .     .  142 
Employees  of  the  Club 152 


FOREWORD 


When  the  Manhattan  Club  determined  to  celebrate  the 
semi 'Centenary  of  its  existence,  it  was  deemed  appro- 
priate to  the  occasion,  in  the  view  of  the  Anniversary- 
Committee,  that  the  history  of  the  Club  for  the  past  fifty 
years  should  be  w^ritten. 

With  that  end  in  view,  Colonel  Henry  Watterson, 
the  editor  of  the  " Liouisville  Courier-Journal,**  w^as  ap- 
proached upon  the  subject  by  the  representatives  of  the 
Club.  Colonel  Watterson  had  been  a  member  of  the 
Manhattan  Club  since  1882.  He  had  been  the  personal 
intimate  and  associate  of  almost  all  of  the  founders  of 
the  organization.  He  w^as  more  familiar  than  any  other 
living  man  mth  the  circumstances  and  conditions  w^hich 
brought  the  Club  into  being;  for  over  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury, w^hen  in  New^  York  City,  he  had  made  it  his  home. 
He  was  personally  acquainted  w^ith  all  of  the  distin- 
guished men  w^ho,  for  half  a  century,  had  been  numbered 
among  its  members.  His  reputation  as  scholar,  editor, 
wit,  and  citizen  of  the  world  was  international ;  while 
as  a  commanding  figure  in  the  later  history  of  our  coun- 

XV 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 
try  he  w^as  wellknow^n  to  the  public.  The  words  which 
had  flow^n  for  a  lifetime  from  his  trenchant  and  graphic 
pen  alw^ays  commanded  attention,  sometimes  engen- 
dered fear.  So  that,  on  the  w^hole,  if  Colonel  Watterson 
could  be  induced  to  write  the  history  of  the  Manhattan 
Club,  that  institution,  as  well  as  the  readers  of  the  vol- 
ume, were  indeed  to  be  congratulated.  Colonel  Watter- 
son had  for  years  been  besought  from  many  quarters  to 
w^rite  his  Manhattan  Club  memoirs,  but  had  persistently 
declined  to  do  so.  When  the  request  of  the  Club  was 
presented  to  him,  how^ever,  he  immediately  expressed 
his  willingness  and  pleasure  to  undertake  the  w^ork — 
but  upon  one  condition  only,  and  that  w^as  that  his 
effort  should  be  a  labor  of  love  and  a  testimonial  of  his 
interest  in  and  appreciation  of  the  Club,  of  w^hich  he 
has  been  so  long  an  active  member,  and  w^hich  he  loves 
so  well. 

In  the  following  pages  Colonel  Watterson  tells  the  his- 
tory of  the  Manhattan  Club  for  the  first  fifty  years  of 
its  existence,  and  has  succeeded  in  giving  us  not  only  an 
interesting  study  of  its  life,  traditions,  and  achieve- 
ments, but  has  presented,  in  his  ow^n  vigorous  and  de- 
lightful style,  some  personal  reminiscences  of  a  number 
of  the  most  celebrated  men  w^hom  our  country  has  pro- 
duced, and  w^ho  w^ere  members  of  this  organization.  Wb 
feel  confident,  therefore,  that  this  history  will  be  inter- 
esting and  entertaining  not  only  to  the  members  of  the 
Manhattan  Club,  but  also  to  those  outside  its  circle  who 
may  have  the  leisure  and  opportunity  to  peruse  its 
pages. 

xvi 


FOREWORD 
T^hese  few  lines  are  written  as  a  public  expression  of 
the  gratitude  and  affection  which  its  members  feel  to- 
w^ard  their  scholarly  and  distinguished  fellow^-member, 
w^ho,  in  this  volume,  becomes  the  historian  of  the  Man- 
hattan Club. 

Philip  J.  Britt, 
President  of  the  Manhattan  Club. 

New  York, 

November  15,  1915. 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

and  adventures  remain  ever  a  sealed  book.  Having  little,  if 
anything,  to  conceal,  it  is  nevertheless  a  secret  society.  To 
the  world  outside,  this  air  of  premeditated  mystery  has  ele- 
vated the  commonplaces  of  every-day  existence  into  a  kind 
of  romance.  "What  did  the  general  say  to  the  judge?"  the 
query  runs;  "and  what  happened  then?" 

The  world  will  never  know.  The  newspapers  will  never 
find  out.  There  is  one  spot  where  the  reporter  may  not  enter 
at  will.    If  he  seeks  "a  story,"  he  will  have  to  invent  it. 

In  one  of  the  London  clubs  a  statesman  once  came  to  his 
end  under  circumstances  most  tragical.  His  body  was  spir- 
ited to  his  lodging.  Nor  did  all  the  devices  of  Scotland  Yard 
and  the  metropolitan  press  suffice  to  get  at  the  truth — 
known  to  this  day  scarcely  to  a  half-dozen  living  men,  who 
may  be  relied  on  to  make  no  sign. 

The  Manhattan  Club  has  not  been  without  its  adventures, 
though  none  of  them  so  deep  and  dark  as  to  fear  exposure 
and  shun  publicity.  Like  the  migrations  of  the  good  Vicar 
of  Wakefield  and  his  wife,  "they  lay  chiefly  betwixt  the  blue 
bed  and  the  brown."  There  were  those  of  us  who  used  in 
later  life  to  accuse  Uncle  Dave  Gilbert,  the  most  unoffending 
and  methodical  of  men,  of  nursing  some  awful  crime— "some 
secret  mystery  the  spirit  haunting" — but  dear  old  Douglas 
Taylor  would  come  to  the  rescue  with :  "The  only  explana- 
tion Dave  Gilbert  wants  to  make  is  that  I  was  with  him,  and 
so  were  Billy  Brown  and  Charlie  Dayton  and  Ashbel  Fitch 
and — "'  whereat  the  company,  which  had  often  heard  the 
quiz,  evaporated  to  "the  rooms  thereunto  adjoining." 

The  Manhattan  was  from  the  first  a  simple  homelike  club. 
We  played  most  games  for  small  stakes.  A  little  group 
actually  played  draw-poker,  forbidden  in  most  clubs,  with- 
out the  usual  consequences  of  fuss  or  scandal.  The  standard 
play  now  is,  and  for  years  has  been,  dominoes  chiefly  for 
drinks,  "wasting  the  midday  oil,"  as  was  once  observed  by 
Sylvester  O' Sullivan,  in  that  great  voice  of  his,  crossing  the 

XX 


PRELUDE 

living-room  into  the  "library," — as  he  called  the  bar, — "and 
impoverishing  themselves  and  their  families  instead  of  im- 
proving their  minds,  as  I  am  about  to  improve  mine." 

In  perusing  the  pages  which  follow  the  reader  must  con- 
tent himself  with  a  crude  narrative  of  the  Club's  visible  and 
official  life.  It  will  be  found  valuable  only  as  a  register — 
interesting  solely  in  a  suggestive  way.  No  claims  of  author- 
ship are,  or  could  be,  advanced  in  its  favor.  It  has  not  been 
composed,  but  compiled  and  edited,  albeit  with  fidelity  and 
painstaking.  It  records  a  half-century  of  honorable  and  not 
undistinguished  service.  It  reminds  the  present,  and  will 
advise  the  future,  of  the  past.  If  it  undertook  to  do  more,  it 
would  exceed  the  requirement,  passing  quite  beyond  the 
province  of  such  a  digest. 

The  Manhattan  Club  ranks  second  to  no  club  in  America. 
To  the  veteran  member  who,  as  a  labor  of  love  and  duty, 
has  framed  these  chapters  and  put  these  pages  together,  it 
doubtless  appears,  through  the  magnifying  haze  of  years, 
greater — certainly  dezirer — than  any.  But  with  the  Union 
Club  and  the  Union  League — its  contemporaries — and  the 
Century,  its  senior — it  links  the  life  of  primitive  old  New 
York  with  that  of  the  wondrous  great  metropolis ;  marks  im- 
pressively the  progressive  revolutions  of  modern  times;  and 
tells  us  that,  in  spite  of  tide  and  chance,  of  time  and  change, 
we  are  Americans,  one  and  all,  whether  we  call  ourselves 
Republicans  or  Democrats,  the  party  label  but  a  trade-mark 
stamp,  "the  man  a  man  for  a'  that." 

At  the  request  of  the  committee  having  the  celebration  of 
the  semi-centenary  of  the  Club  in  charge,  I  have  added  a 
concluding  chapter  of  personal  reminiscence,  whose  unin- 
tentioned  egotism  may  be  forgiven  if  its  subject-matter  be 
found  worth  while.  The  period  of  the  Tilden  domination  in 
the  Empire  State,  beginning  with  the  election  of  the  Sage  of 
Gramercy  Park  to  the  governorship  in  1875,  and  not  ending 
imtil  his  death  in  1886,  marked  the  rise  of  the  Democratic 

xxi 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

Party  from  the  deeps  of  political  adversity  to  the  firm,  high 
ground  of  its  former  prestige  and  influence — a  Democrat  in 
the  White  House  at  Washington,  and  in  the  executive  man- 
sion at  Albany,  all  the  result  of  the  wise  leadership  of  Samuel 
Jones  Tilden,  one  of  the  founders  and  always  a  loyal  mem- 
ber of  the  Manhattan  Club.  It  is  hoped  the  space  given  to 
this  will  not  appear  disproportioned.  It  forms  an  important 
part  of  the  Club's  history,  and  recalls  an  almost  forgotten 
chapter  of  national  history. 

I  have  taken  for  an  Introductory  Chapter  a  sketch  written 
by  Mr.  Edward  G.  Riggs,  a  member  of  the  Club,  and  printed 
in  the  New  York  "Sun"  some  twenty-three  years  ago,  which 
is  so  graphic  as  a  contemporary  picture  and  so  vivid  as  a 
personal  reminiscence  as  fitly  to  precede  the  more  detailed 
narration. 

I  have  had  from  members  of  the  MeUihattzui  both  assist- 
ance and  sympathy  in  collecting  the  data  needful  to  an 
adequate  record  of  the  Club's  activities;  but  from  Mr.  Alex- 
ander Konta  a  direct  personal  interest  and  an  actual  division 
of  labor  which  have  been  invaluable.  In  every  way  and  at 
each  turning  his  literary  training,  artistic  perception  and 
critical  judgment,  his  constant  support  and  loyal  zeal,  have 
made  that  easy  which  otherwise  would  have  been  hard  in- 
deed. This  prelude  would  be  neither  sufficient  nor  just  with- 
out my  most  grateful  acknowledgment  to  Mr.  Konta. 


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in  conformity  to  the  Constitution  heretofore  adojtted,  and  to  pay  to  Wilson  G.  Hunt, 
Trcfisurer.  or  his  order,  an  demand,  the  >//«/  of  7)ro   Hundred  Dollars  each,  for  the 

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Presented  to  the 

MAIilJATTAN   CT.JR. 
by   the  daughter  of   its  Founder 

DOUr-LAS   TAYT.OT?r       | 


1865—1916. 

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• 

INTRODUCTORY^ 


HE  Manhattan  Club,  at  Fifth  Avenue  and 
Thirty-fourth  Street,  is  the  home  of  the 
swallowtail  Democracy.  To  the  Demo- 
cratic Party  it  is  what  the  Union  League 
Club  is  to  the  Republican  Party.  The  mem- 
bers wear  fine  linen,  have  many  changes  of 
raiment,  are  partial  to  patent-leathers  and 
silk-woven  goloshes.  There  are  brains  and  culture  in  the 
Club.  The  Club  building  is  the  marble  house  erected  by  the 
late  Alexander  T.  Stewart.  It  cost  $1,000,000.  It  is  marble 
throughout.  It  is  just  as  solidly  marble  inside  as  outside. 
The  Club  has  a  twenty-one  years*  lease  on  the  building — 
$35»ooo  a  year  for  the  first  five  years,  $37,500  a  year  for  the 
next  five  years,  and  $40,000  a  year  for  the  remaining  eleven 
years.    The  house  is  still  owned  by  the  Stewart  estate. 

In  1864,  when  the  idea  of  such  a  club  was  first  promul- 
gated, the  present  splendor  of  the  Club  would  have  been  a 
fatuous  dream.  The  Democracy  was  at  its  lowest  point  in 
the  history  of  the  nation.  It  was  not  fashionable  to  be  a 
Democrat.  The  glory  of  Lincoln  and  the  Republican  Party 
was  shining  like  a  midday  sun.    A  Democrat  was  nothing 

1  Edward  G.  Riggs  in  the  New  York  "Sun,"  April  23,  1892. 

xxiii 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

but  a  copperhead.  He  was  considered  little  less  than  a 
traitor.  Innumerable  instances  are  on  record  where  he  was 
shunned  as  a  most  unwholesome  person.  The  bitterness 
was  intense.  The  memories  of  those  days  are  still  fresh  in 
the  minds  of  some  of  the  old  members  of  the  Club,  including 
Douglas  Taylor,  who,  more  than  any  other  man,  must  be 
considered  the  original  founder  of  the  Club ;  Manton  Marble, 
John  T.  Agnew,  George  Ticknor  Curtis,  Andrew  H.  Green, 
Henry  Hilton,  and  Edward  Cooper. 

It  may  be  said  truthfully  that  but  for  the  Union  League 
Club,  the  Manhattan  Club  would  perhaps  never  have  been 
organized.  The  Union  League  Club  was  fairly  on  its  way 
to  prosperity  when  the  Democratic  Party  nominated  Mc- 
Clellan  and  Pendleton  to  oppose  Lincoln  and  Johnson.  The 
Union  League  Club  was  Republican  in  every  fibre.  The  ap- 
plications of  Democrats  to  join  it  were  distastefully  received. 
It  is  true  that  in  a  spasm  of  generosity  it  accepted  James  T. 
Brady,  Charles  P.  Daly,  and  William  Butler  Duncan.  Judge 
Daly,  however,  quickly  retired  from  the  Union  League.  The 
atmosphere  was  not  pleasant  to  him.  He  and  Mr.  Brady  and 
Mr.  Duncan  were  as  loyal  as  any  three  men  on  earth.  The 
Union  Leaguers,  though,  were  shy  of  such  company.  The 
three  leading  clubs  of  New  York  at  the  time — the  Union, 
the  Union  League,  and  the  Century — had  for  presidents 
pronounced  Republicans  like  William  M.  Evarts,  Hamilton 
Fish,  and  William  H.  Seward.  The  famous  Century  Club 
was  opposed  even  to  Gulian  C.  Verplanck.  Radical  notions 
abounded.  Sturdy  old  Democrats  resented  the  harsh  senti- 
ments of  the  Republicans.  An  abortive  attempt  to  organize 
a  Democratic  club  similar  to  the  Union  League  was  made 
in  1864,  just  prior  to  the  McClellan-Pendleton  campaign. 
General  McClellan  and  his  associate  on  the  ticket  were 
greatly  interested  in  the  project.  Their  headquarters  were  at 
the  New  York  Hotel.  The  McClellan  Executive  Committee 
occasionally  met  at  Delmonico's,  and  it  was  there,  in  the 

xxiv 


INTRODUCTORY 

presence  of  the  candidate,  Manton  Marble,  John  T.  Hoffman 
(Recorder  at  the  time),  Douglas  Taylor,  Augustus  Schell, 
George  W.  McLean,  Henry  Hilton,  and  others,  that  the 
project  received  its  first  inspiration.  The  overwhelming 
defeat  of  McClellan  and  Pendleton  followed,  and  the  idea  of 
a  swell  Democratic  club  was  shattered  for  the  moment.  The 
Democratic  Party  was  poverty-stricken.  Democrats  who 
had  voted  for  McClellan  and  Pendleton  were  flouted  and 
malignantly  dubbed  copperheads. 

But  there  were  energetic  spirits  behind  the  club  move- 
ment. The  spring  of  '65  was  ushered  in,  and  with  it  the  club 
project  was  taken  up  again.  The  little  band  of  Democrats 
had  various  meetings  at  the  residence  of  George  W.  McLean, 
at  the  New  York  Hotel,  in  the  office  of  Manton  Marble,  and 
at  the  office  of  Douglas  Taylor,  then  commissioner  of  jurors. 
In  the  latter  place,  in  April,  1865,  a  meeting  was  held  at 
which  a  number  of  judges  and  leading  Democrats  were  pres- 
ent, including  Mayor  Gunther  and  Recorder  Hoffman,  and 
a  committee  consisting  of  Chief  Justice  Charles  P.  Daly  of 
the  Common  Pleas,  Clerk  Nathaniel  Jarvis  of  that  court,  and 
Mr.  Taylor  was  delegated  to  visit  Democrats  and  secure  sig- 
natures for  the  proposed  club.  The  initiation  fee  and  dues 
were  fixed  at  two  hundred  dollars.  This  was  a  staggerer,  to 
begin  with.  It  was  a  problem  as  to  how  many  Democrats 
in  New  York  City  would  put  their  hands  in  their  pockets  and 
pay  two  hundred  dollars  to  join  a  club,  the  representative  of 
a  party  consisting  of  "copperheads  and  traitors."  Things 
ran  along  until  the  following  June,  when  a  meeting  of  the 
Club's  pioneers  was  held  in  Augustus  Schell's  law  office, 
then  at  40  Wall  Street.  It  was  there  that  Mr.  Marble  sug- 
gested that  the  new  Club  should  be  known  as  the  Manhattan 
Club ;  and  at  a  subsequent  meeting  at  the  same  place  the  fol- 
lowing twenty-five  Democrats  were  selected  as  permanent 
managers  of  the  organization :  Gulian  C.  Verplanck,  Augus- 
tus Schell,  John  A,  Dix,  William  F.  Allen,  August  Belmont, 

XXV 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

John  Van  Buren  (son  of  Martin  Van  Buren),  Horace  F. 
Clark,  George  W.  McLean,  S.  L.  M.  Barlow,  Charles 
O'Conor,  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  George  Ticknor  Curtis,  Andrew 
H.  Green,  William  Butler  Duncan,  Henry  Hilton,  Anthony 
L.  Robertson,  Manton  Marble,  William  C.  Prime,  James  T. 
Brady,  Edwards  Pierrepont,  Wilson  G.  Hunt,  Edward 
Cooper,  Douglas  Taylor,  John  T.  Hoffman,  and  E.L.Corliss. 
General  Dix,  who  had  sat  in  Buchanan's  cabinet,  was  nomi- 
nally a  Democrat,  but  declined  to  serve  as  one  of  the  mana- 
gers.   In  fact,  he  switched  over  to  the  Union  Leaguers. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Managing  Committee  was  at  Del- 
monico's.  Fourteenth  Street  and  Fifth  Avenue,  on  Tuesday 
evening,  July  i8,  1865.  At  this  and  subsequent  meetings  in 
the  same  month,  Mr.  Augustus  Schell  acting  as  chairman, 
Mr.  Marble  was  requested  to  frame  a  constitution.  Judge 
Hilton  and  John  Van  Buren  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
secure  a  permanent  home  for  the  Club,  and  Mr.  Taylor  and 
Mr.  McLean  hustled  around  to  get  members.  A  list  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  Democrats  was  secured.  They  were 
ready  to  pay  the  two  hundred  dollars  each. 

The  next  thing  was  to  get  a  home.  The  Moffatt  mansion 
in  Union  Square,  at  that  time  next  to  the  Everett  House, 
was  rejected.  The  committee  finally  purchased  the  old 
Parker  or  Benkard  mansion,  at  Fifth  Avenue  and  Fifteenth 
Street,  for  $1 10,000.  Half  of  this  money  was  to  be  raised  on 
bonds.  A  fund  for  preliminary  expenses  was  made  neces- 
sary, and  August  Belmont  subscribed  $10,000;  Augustus 
Schell,  $5000;  Judge  Hilton,  $5000;  S.  L.  M.  Barlow,  $5000; 
Horace  F.  Clark,  $5000;  William  Butler  Duncan,  $5000; 
Samuel  J.  Tilden,  $5000;  and  Mr.  Marble  and  others  made 
up  the  sum  to  $55,000.  The  Democracy  was  not  dead  yet. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  none  of  that  $55,000  was  ever  required. 
The  membership  list  rapidly  rose  to  three  hundred,  and  this 
gave  the  Club  $60,000  to  start  with,  so  the  subscriptions  were 
not  called  in. 

xxvi 


INTRODUCTORY 

The  first  officers  of  the  Club  were:  John  Van  Buren,  presi- 
dent; Augustus  Schell,  vice-president;  Manton  Marble, 
secretary;  and  Wilson  G.  Hunt,  treasurer.  Mr.  Hunt  soon 
retired.  Old  Dean  Richmond  was  elected  a  manager  in  his 
place,  and  when  he  died,  shortly  afterward,  Horatio  Sey- 
mour accepted  the  place.  The  first  House  Committee  com- 
prised Mr.  McLean,  Mr.  Hilton,  and  Hiram  Cranston, 
proprietor  of  the  New  York  Hotel.  All  worked  like  beavers 
to  fix  up  the  home  of  the  Club.  The  "house-warming"  was 
on  December  i6,  1865. 

The  first  president  of  the  Club,  John  Van  Buren,  was 
known  as  "Prince  John."  He  was  the  son  of  Martin  Van 
Buren,  the  Kinderhook  statesman,  who  was  governor  of  the 
State  in  1828,  secretary  of  state  under  Jackson  in  1829,  min- 
ister to  England  in  1831,  vice-president  under  Jackson  in 
1833,  and  eighth  President  of  the  United  States  in  1837. 
John  Van  Buren  was  attached  to  the  American  Legation  in 
London  imder  his  father.  The  present  Queen  of  England 
was  then  Princess  Victoria,  daughter  of  Edward,  Duke  of 
Kent,  fourth  son  of  George  III.  John  Van  Buren,  at  a  grand 
state  ball  at  which  the  ambassadors  of  that  day  were  present, 
had  the  honor  of  dancing  with  Princess  Victoria.  He  opened 
the  quadrille  with  the  future  Queen  of  England,  and  the 
American  newspapers  got  to  calling  him  Prince  John.  The 
title  remained  with  him  until  his  death  on  October  13,  1866. 
His  successors  as  president  of  the  Club,  in  their  order  from 
that  day  to  this,  are:  Augustus  Schell,  August  Belmont, 
Aaron  J.  Vanderpoel,  Manton  Marble,  and  Frederic  R. 
Coudert. 

n 

The  Club  has  always  been  a  factor  in  Democratic  politics. 
Its  first  venture  in  national  affairs,  though,  was  not  success- 
ful. This  was  an  effort,  practically,  to  capture  President 
Andrew  Johnson  and  make  him  a  full-fledged  Democrat.    It 

xxvii 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

was  a  strategic  move,  and  at  one  time  the  managers  of  the 
Club  thought  it  would  be  successful.  President  Johnson 
was  not  pleasing  the  Republicans,  by  any  means.  The 
Democracy  was  at  such  a  low  ebb  that  the  Manhattan 
strategists  believed  that  any  effort,  no  matter  how  difficult, 
should  be  attempted  to  revive  the  party's  fortunes  in  the 
nation.  The  scheme  was  started  when  this  letter  was  sent 
to  President  Johnson  on  March  12, 1866: 

To  the  Hon.  Andrew  Johnson, 

President  of  the  United  States. 

Sir:  The  undersigned  members  of  the  Managing  Commit- 
tee of  the  Manhattan  Club  beg  leave  to  apprise  you  that  you 
were  this  day  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the  Club,  and 
to  request  your  acceptance  of  the  same.  They  enclose  a 
copy  of  their  Constitution  and  By-Laws,  with  a  list  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Club,  which  will  be  found  to  include  a  fair 
representation  of  the  intelligence,  enterprise,  wealth,  and 
patriotism  of  our  City  and  State.  They  have  also  been  re- 
quested to  say  to  you,  in  behalf  of  the  Club,  that  they  desire 
to  procure  a  full-length  portrait  of  yourself,  to  be  painted  by 
one  of  our  first  artists,  and  that  they  will  be  much  obliged  if 
you  will  gratify  them  by  consenting  to  sit  to  him.  It  is  the 
earnest  desire  of  the  Club  to  adorn  their  walls  with  the 
representation  of  the  form  and  lineaments  of  a  statesman 
and  patriot  whose  efforts  to  restore  the  peace  and  union  of 
our  distracted  country  and  whose  just  and  fearless  rebukes 
of  disunionists  command  their  unanimous,  cordial,  and  en- 
thusiastic approbation. 

Please  address  your  answer  to 

John  Van  Buren, 

President  of  the  Manhattan  Club, 
96  Fifth  Avenue. 

xxviii 


INTRODUCTORY 

W.  F.  Allen,  S.  L.  M.  Barlow,  August  Belmont,  James  T. 
Brady,  Hiram  Cranston,  George  Ticknor  Curtis,  Edward 
Cooper,  Edward  L.  Corliss,  H.  F.  Clark,  W.  Butler  Duncan, 
Andrew  H.  Green,  John  T.  Hoffman,  Henry  Hilton,  Edwards 
Pierrepont,  Manton  Marble,  George  W.  McLean,  W.  C. 
Prime,  Dean  Richmond,  Augustus  Schell,  Douglas  Taylor, 
G.  C.  Verplanck,  S.  J.  Tilden;  John  Van  Buren,  President. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Constitution  of  the  Club  ex- 
pressly declares  that  its  object  is  to  advance  Democratic 
principles,  the  foregoing  letter  was  a  mighty  interesting  one 
to  send  to  a  man  elected  on  the  ticket  with  Abraham  Lincoln, 
the  first  President  of  the  Republican  Party.  The  managers 
of  the  Club  and  those  in  the  scheme  eagerly  awaited  a  reply 
from  President  Johnson.  It  came  ten  days  later,  and  the 
night  the  letter  reached  the  Club  there  was  a  fine  old  hubbub 
over  it.    The  letter  said : 

Executive  Mansion, 
Washington,  D.  C,  March  22,  1866. 

John  Van  Buren,  Esq.,  John  T.  Hoffman,  Esq.,  et  al. 

Gentlemen :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt 
of  your  letter  of  the  12th  instant,  informing  me  of  my  elec- 
tion as  an  Honorary  Member  of  the  Manhattan  Club  of  New 
York  City,  and  asking  me  to  allow  an  artist  of  your  selection 
to  take  a  full-length  portrait  of  myself  for  your  Club. 

In  communicating  to  you  my  acceptance  of  these  compli- 
ments, I  desire  to  thank  you  sincerely  for  them  and  for  the 
friendly  expressions  of  support  and  encouragement  you 
tender  me  in  the  discharge  of  my  public  duties.  An  honest 
and  clear  conviction  of  duty  and  consciousness  of  rectitude 
of  purpose,  the  unwavering  support  of  the  AmericcUi  people, 
and  the  blessing  of  an  all-wise  Providence  will,  I  believe, 
enable  me  to  meet  any  emergency.    I  feel  that  I  have  the 

xxix 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

first  two;  and  it  shall  be  the  object  of  my  every  endeavor  to 
deserve  the  remaining  requisite. 
I  am,  gentlemen,  with  great  respect, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Andrew  Johnson. 

The  artist  was  promptly  sent  on  to  Washington,  and  the 
painting  then  made  of  President  Johnson  still  hangs  in  the 
Manhattan  Club.  There  was  nothing  particular  in  Presi- 
dent Johnson's  letter  to  encourage  the  managers,  but  it  was 
a  starting-point.  It  was  decided  to  push  the  game.  Up  to 
that  time  no  man  had  been  elected  a  member  who  could  not 
conscientiously  say  that  he  was  a  Democrat.  In  order  to 
carry  out  the  scheme  with  President  Johnsoi^i  this  feature 
was  modified,  and  Clarence  Seward,  Thurlow  Weed,  and  a 
dozen  other  friends  of  Johnson  were  admitted  to  the  Club. 
Old  members,  talking  of  that  period  in  the  Club's  existence, 
say  they  thought  then  that  they  had  Johnson  sure.  But  in 
order  to  fasten  him  it  was  decided  to  get  up  a  great  meeting 
in  Union  Square  to  sustain  Johnson,  and  hurrah  for  his  pol- 
icy of  making  enemies  in  his  own  party.  This  meeting  was 
held  on  September  17,  1866,  and  John  A.  Dix,  who  was  at 
that  time  in  the  Union  League  Club,  was  pushed  to  the  front 
as  chairman.  He  was  nothing  but  a  "stall,"  it  was  remarked 
by  a  veteran  of  the  Club.  The  Manhattan  Club's  crusade 
into  the  enemy's  camp  was  known  as  the  "Citizens'  move- 
ment." This  covered  the  real  object  of  the  Democratic 
schemers.  President  Johnson  came  on  to  New  York,  and 
the  meeting  in  Union  Square  was  the  largest  ever  held  there. 
It  sustained  President  Johnson  and  his  policy  with  the 
greatest  enthusiasm.  John  T.  Hoffman,  all  the  Schells, 
and  every  manager  of  the  Manhattan  Club  believed  then 
that  they  had  captured  Johnson.  A  great  banquet  was  given 
in  his  honor  at  the  Club,  and  the  "Citizens,"  otherwise 
Democrats,  feasted  him  at  Delmonico's.    The  Republicans, 

XXX 


INTRODUCTORY 

though,  were  fully  aware  of  the  Manhattan  Club's  tactics 
concerning  Johnson,  and  they,  too,  went  to  work.  An  old 
manager  of  the  Club  (Douglas  Taylor),  recalling  the  epi- 
sode, says : 

"We  hungry  Democrats  thought  we  had  Johnson  sure. 
We  wined  and  dined  him  in  great  shape.  But  Johnson  was 
afraid  of  impeachment,  and  the  Republicans  held  that  axe 
over  his  head.  His  Democracy  soon  oozed  out,  and  Seward, 
Weed,  and  all  the  Johnson  Democrats  went  back  to  the  Re- 
publican Party." 

In  1868  the  Club  took  a  very  active  part  in  the  campaign 
of  Seymour  and  Blciir.  They  offered  the  Democratic  Na- 
tional Committee  the  use  of  the  club-house,  and  the  in- 
vitation was  accepted.  Seymour  and  Blair  received  the 
Notification  Committee  there,  and  made  the  Club  their  head- 
quarters. Governor  Seymour  had  a  little  bedroom  at  the 
top  of  the  building,  and  there  he  discussed  the  plans  of  the 
campaign  with  the  Executive  Committee.  His  strongest 
diet  and  stimulant  during  the  time  were  stewed  oysters  and 
green  tea.  In  the  '72  campaign  Horace  Greeley  was  break- 
fasted at  the  Manhattan.  All  the  leading  Democrats  visited 
the  Club  to  greet  Mr.  Greeley  and  drink  his  health.  But  a 
decline  in  the  Club's  fortunes  followed  the  Greeley  cam- 
paign. Many  Democrats  had  not  reconciled  themselves  to 
the  candidacy  of  Mr.  Greeley,  and  the  feeling  among  the 
members  was  not  happy.  The  attendance  fell  off,  and  finan- 
cial entanglements  appeared  above  the  horizon.  The  elec- 
tion of  Samuel  J.  Tilden  as  governor  in  1874  reawakened 
interest;  and  the  fight  in  1876,  when  Mr.  Tilden,  an  original 
manager  of  the  Club,  was  a  candidate,  stirred  its  enthusiasm. 
But  the  Greeley  feeling  had  taken  deep  root,  and  in  1877  the 
Club  was  reorganized,  August  Belmont  remaining  as  presi- 
dent. From  that  time,  however,  the  Club  has  continued  to 
grow,  and  it  is  now  booming.  It  is  true  that  there  is  a  Mug- 
wump element  in  the  Manhattan,  bitterly  opposed  to  certain 

xxxi 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

Democratic  leaders.  But  in  view  of  the  experience  in  dealing 
with  unknown  gods,  the  officers  of  the  Club  are  practically 
compelled  to  recognize  the  great  Democratic  leaders,  no 
matter  whether  personally  objectionable  to  them  or  not. 

President  Cleveland  has  always  had  a  good  many  friends 
in  the  Club.  He  is  a  member.  The  Club  gave  him  a  recep- 
tion and  dinner  on  his  election  as  governor  in  1882.  The 
Club  has  always  royally  entertained  the  Democratic  gov- 
ernors and  Democratic  senators.  Many  of  the  members, 
nevertheless,  have  prided  themselves  upon  belonging  to  a 
Democratic  club  with  swallowtail  proclivities  and  affilia- 
tions. They  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  they  don't  like  the 
"short-hairs."  It  is  a  matter  of  fact  that  John  Kelly,  through 
his  friends  in  the  Club,  was  elected  three  times,  and  that  he 
always  refused  to  accept  the  membership.  He  never  quali- 
fied. Richard  Croker  has  not  been  in  the  Club  more  than 
half  a  dozen  times  in  his  life.  He  will  only  go  there  on  the 
invitation  of  Mayor  Gilroy  or  some  of  his  old  personal 
friends  in  the  Tammany  organization. 


Ill 

The  Manhattan  Club  has  always  been  famous  for  its  kitchen. 
Uncle  Sam  Ward  became  a  member  on  January  22, 1866,  and 
from  that  day  until  his  death  was  an  habitual  frequenter,  his 
home  being  just  around  the  corner.  He  did  more  to  make 
the  Club  famous  in  one  direction  than  any  dozen  men  in 
it.  He  gathered  around  him  a  little  coterie  of  his  own.  It 
included  John  Brougham,  Joseph  Jefferson,  William  J. 
Florence,  William  Henry  Hurlbert,  Oakey  Hall,  Dion 
Boucicault,  "Winter  Garden"  Stuart,  and  others.  Commo- 
dore Vanderbilt  played  whist  in  the  Club  with  his  friends 
every  night  for  years. 

This  article,  however,  aims  not  to  deal  in  memories,  but 
rather  to  speak  of  the  Manhattan  as  it  is  to-day.     The 

xxxii 


INTRODUCTORY 

Stewart  house  has  been  described  a  hundred  times :  the  pic- 
tures in  the  main  corridor,  with  its  marble  pillars  and  great 
chandeliers;  the  superbly  frescoed  ceiling;  the  drawing- 
room,  enriched  with  bric-a-brac,  paintings,  mirrors,  vases, 
crystal  chandeliers,  medallions,  statuettes,  and  velvet  car- 
pets; the  library,  the  dining-room,  the  kitchen  at  the  top  of 
the  building,  the  reception-  and  the  billiard-rooms.  In  the 
library  are  the  English  and  American  papers,  books  of  fiction 
and  reference,  scientific  works,  biographies,  history,  the 
poets,  Burke's  "Peerage,"  for  the  use  of  the  younger  mem- 
bers, and  Balzac's  works,  for  the  delight  of  those  more  ad- 
vanced in  life. 

The  dining-room  is  on  the  second  floor,  on  the  Fifth  Ave- 
nue side.  It  is  the  room  once  occupied  by  President  Grant 
as  a  bed-chamber  when  he  was  the  guest  of  Mr.  Stewart.  It 
glows  like  fairyland  at  night,  when  the  crystal  chandeliers 
are  lighted  and  the  tables  are  adorned  with  wax  candles,  in 
solid  silver  candelabra,  with  tiny  red  and  gold  shades.  The 
main  stairway,  leading  from  the  main  corridor  to  the  top  of 
the  building,  is  of  marble,  and  alone  cost  $100,000.  In  the 
general  reception-room  there  are  some  very  handsome  me- 
dallions, including  those  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  Carroll  of 
CarroUton,  George  Washington,  and  Benjamin  Franklin. 
Valuable  paintings  are  here,  there,  and  everywhere.  It  cost 
the  Club  quite  $500,000  to  fit  up  the  building  when  it  moved 
from  the  old  house  at  Fifteenth  Street  and  Fifth  Avenue  two 
years  ago.  But  people  will  want  to  know  something  about 
the  members  of  the  Club  and  the  experiences  there. 

President  Coudert  is  now  in  Paris.  He  is  one  of  the  coun- 
sel appointed  by  President  Harrison  to  represent  the  United 
States  before  the  Behring  Sea  Commission.  Mr.  Coudert 
started  life  about  as  poor  as  anybody  possibly  could  be.  He 
was  well  educated,  though,  and  made  his  first  money  trans- 
lating the  French  papers  for  the  "New  York  Herald."  The 
money  he  earned  there  helped  him  to  become  a  lawyer,  and 

xxxiii 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

he  has  attained  international  fame  in  his  profession.  Many 
of  Mr.  Coudert's  friends  thought  that  President  Cleveland 
would  make  him  ambassador  at  Paris.  In  Mr.  Coudert's 
absence,  Christopher  Columbus  Baldwin  is  acting  president. 
He  is  a  Wall  Street  banker.  J.  Edward  Simmons,  the  treas- 
urer, is  president  of  the  Fourth  National  Bank.  He  was  a 
Troy  boy,  and  grew  up  with  Senator  Edward  Murphy,  Jr. 
The  fondness  of  Mr.  Simmons  for  Mr.  Murphy  has  been 
very  deep  from  those  days,  and  no  man  was  prouder  of  Mr. 
Murphy's  elevation  to  the  United  States  Senate  than  was  he. 
Among  the  life  members  is  John  T.  Agnew,  who  is  looked 
upon  as  the  Nestor  of  the  Club.  Mr.  Agnew  is  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  Continental  National  Bank,  and  is  an  authority 
on  banking  and  financial  questions.  He  is  godfather  to  half 
the  members  of  the  Club ;  that  is,  he  was  their  sponsor  when 
they  came  before  the  Board  of  Governors  for  election.  Mr. 
Agnew  is  a  handsome,  gray-haired  gentleman  who  has 
maintained  in  life  such  a  strict  observance  of  hygienic  rule 
that  at  threescore  and  ten,  although  he  has  a  twitch  of 
rheumatism,  his  complexion  is  that  of  rosy  youth.  He  is  a 
t3^e  of  the  true  American.  He  looks  like  an  American.  He 
is  six  feet  high,  and  straight  as  a  mast.  He  could  have  been 
president  of  the  Club.  He  has  had  offers  of  every  office  the 
Club  had,  but  has  persistently  declined.  He  has  more  influ- 
ence than  any  other  member  of  the  Club  in  certain  direc- 
tions. He  is  bright  as  a  new  dollar,  an  enthusiastic  believer 
in  the  future  of  New  York,  who  thinks  the  town  is  only  just 
starting.  Usually  he  sits  in  an  arm-chair  in  the  big  morning- 
room,  and  on  entering  the  members  first  make  it  their  busi- 
ness to  pay  their  respects  to  him.  Some  of  the  other  life 
members  are  ex-Congressman  Perry  Belmont,  son  of  August 
Belmont,  who  did  so  much  for  the  Club ;  ex-Mayor  Edward 
Cooper,  who  came  within  an  ace  of  being  nominated  for 
governor  in  1882,  when  Mr.  Cleveland  won  the  prize;  ex- 
Mayor  Smith  Ely,  Manton  Marble,  Robert  B.  Roosevelt, 

xxxiv 


INTRODUCTORY 

Douglas  Taylor,  Nelson  J.  Waterbury,  Jr.,  and  Sidney  Web- 
ster, nephew  of  Franklin  Pierce  and  son-in-law  of  Heimilton 
Fish. 

In  looking  over  the  general  list  of  the  Club  and  the  hap- 
penings there,  the  remark  of  old  man  Weller  is  recalled.  Mr. 
Weller,  on  seeing  a  canary-bird  in  a  cage  inside  a  jail,  said: 
"There 's  wheels  within  wheels."  So  in  the  Manhattan  there 
are  comprised  a  variety  of  clubs  and  coteries,  and  almost 
every  other  club  in  the  City  of  New  York,  if  not  in  the 
United  States,  is  represented  by  some  little  group.  For  in- 
stance, giving  credit  to  antiquity  first,  there  is  the  Cuttyhunk 
Club.  Who  of  the  old-timers  has  not  heard  of  the  glories  of 
Cuttyhunk  and  George  Barnard  and  Charlie  Osborn,  and 
the  "Dreadnought,"  and  old  Billy  Woodhull,  and  Sam  Post, 
and  Billy  Spence,  and  Phcene  Ingraham?  Several  of  the  old 
set  have  gone  to  their  account,  but  they  helped  to  make  the 
island  of  Cuttyhunk  a  merry  resort  years  before  the  Ameri- 
cus  Club  was  born;  and  during  those  days,  and  since,  the 
followers  of  Cuttyhunk  have  been  very  numerous  in  the 
Manhattan  Club.  The  stories  that  Joseph  J.  0*Donohue 
can  tell  about  bass  hauls  sound  like  killy  stories  when  com- 
pared with  the  high-hook  records  of  these  Cuttyhunkers.  It 
is  true  that  the  menhaden  fishers  in  Buzzard's  Bay  have 
pretty  well  killed  the  big  bass  fishing  at  Cuttyhunk,  but  this 
has  not  caused  any  diminution  in  the  Cuttyhunk  yarns  which 
are  heard  every  afternoon  in  the  Manhattan  parlors. 

Then  there  is  the  set  known  as  the  "Larchmont  crew." 
They  spread  all  over  the  Club.  They  have  two  or  three 
members  of  the  Board  of  Governors,  including  Assistant 
District  Attorney  Harry  Macdona,  who  in  the  last  election 
was  the  only  young  man  elected  to  the  Board.  It  was  a  per- 
sonal triumph  for  Mr.  Macdona.  The  Larchmont  element 
in  the  Club  also  owns  the  office  of  secretary  in  the  person 
of  David  Gilbert.  Then  there  are  Chester  Munroe,  CoUey 
Colt  of  the  "Dauntless,"  Jordan  L.  Mott,  Jr.,  Gus  Monroe, 

XXXV 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

George  Cormack,  and  Matt  Clark,  and  they  make  up  a  set 
that  always  hangs  together. 

Then  there  is  also  what  is  known  as  the  "Day  Club"  or  as 
the  "New  York  Stock  Exchange."  They  have  a  very  power- 
ful little  club  of  their  own  inside  the  Manhattan.  They  have 
three  representatives  on  the  Board  of  Governors,  and  while 
they  are  not  always  together  in  the  Club,  like  the  Cutty- 
hunkers  and  the  Larchmont  crew,  they  appear  most  unani- 
mously together  on  nights  of  election  when  any  one  in  whom 
they  are  interested  is  a  candidate.  John  Hone  may  properly 
be  considered  the  leader  of  the  Day  Club. 

Next  in  importance  comes  the  Union  Club  crowd.  They 
have  five  members  on  the  Board  of  Governors,  one  of  them 
being  the  newly  elected  and  very  popular  governor,  Daniel 
Bayne.  He  defeated  Francis  K.  Pendleton,  the  son  of 
Senator  Pendleton,  who  ran  for  Vice-President  on  the  ticket 
headed  by  General  McClellan  when  the  Club  was  first 
thought  of.  The  Union  Club  crowd  in  the  Club  is  a  sort  of 
political  club.  They  are  banded  together  to  push  their  own 
interests. 

Then,  in  addition  to  these  coteries  there  are  social  lines 
and  lines  of  affinity  cross-cutting  the  sets  and  cliques.  There 
is  a  breakfast  set,  members  who  breakfast  at  the  Club  up  to 
one  o'clock.  There  is  an  afternoon  set  that  begins  to  come  in 
about  two  and  stays  till  dinner-time.  They  play  billiards, 
talk,  or  play  chess  or  dominoes.  Then  there  's  the  night  set. 
This  last  is  largely  composed  of  the  hard-working  public 
officials,  including  many  judges  and  some  city  officials,  as 
Mayor  Gilroy,  Supervisor  W.  J.  K.  Kenny,  Corporation 
Counsel  Clark,  and  their  friends. 

Recurring  to  the  subject  of  games,  there  is  a  rule  in  the 
Club  which  tells  the  games  that  may  be  played  there.  These 
are  whist,  euchre,  Boston,  all-fours,  ecarte,  bezique,  crib- 
bage,  piquet,  hearts,  billiards,  chess,  checkers,  backgammon, 
and  dominoes. 

xxxvi 


INTRODUCTORY 

The  champion  billiard-player  of  the  Club  is  James  Inglis, 
and  the  pool  champion,  when  Joseph  J.  O'Donohue  is  not 
around,  is  Eddie  Bell,  though  Phoene  Ingraham  is  a  pretty 
fair  hand  at  the  game.  But  there  is  now  coming  to  the  front 
a  gentleman  who  gives  promise  of  making  some  of  the  old- 
time  billiard  and  pool  champions  very  tired.  He  finds  time 
occasionally  on  Saturdays  to  ease  his  mind  from  the  cares  of 
the  Standard  Oil  Company  and  various  collateral  activities 
and  industries.  This  is  John  D.  Archbold.  It  is  admitted 
with  great  regret  by  the  old-time  champions  that  Mr.  Arch- 
bold*s  game  is  improving  to  such  an  extent  that  it  will  be 
necessary  to  get  a  special  class  for  him  pretty  soon.  Van 
Emberg  and  Bissell  believe  themselves  to  be  in  Archbold's 
class,  but  this  belief  is  limited  to  themselves.  The  great 
English  billiard  champion  is  said  to  be  Major  Ulrich ;  but  as 
"blackjack"  is  now  replacing  the  English  game  in  the  Club, 
the  Major  is  falling  off  for  lack  of  practice.  Blackjack  is  the 
French  game  of  billiards,  with  the  addition  of  a  black  pin, 
which  is  a  heavy  counter  in  the  game.  Arthur  Ingraham, 
Harry  Macdona,  Dave  Gilbert,  and  Colonel  Loeser  are  the 
blackjack  fiends.  Manton  Marble  and  Judge  Abram  R. 
Lawrence  are  the  two  oldest  billiard-players  in  the  Club. 

The  judicial  group  is  very  exclusive.  They  dine  together, 
especially  Judge  Edward  Van  Brunt,  Judge  John  Clinton 
Gray,  Judge  Miles  Beach,  Judge  Charles  Truax,  Judge 
Roger  Pryor,  Judge  Ingraham,  Judge  Barrett,  Judge  Gilder- 
sleeve,  Judge  George  Andrews,  Judge  Lawrence,  and  Judge 
Bookstaver. 

The  society  end  of  the  Club  is  represented  by  William  C. 
Whitney,  who  is  chairman  of  the  Library  Committee  and 
one  of  the  governors;  August  Belmont,  Jr.,  Oliver  H.  P. 
Belmont,  Carroll  Bryce,  J.  Coleman  Draj^on,  Cornelius 
Vanderbilt,  J.  Sergeant  Cram,  Joe  Decker,  Reginald  Franck- 
13m,  George  and  Frederic  Frelinghuysen,  sons  of  President 
Arthur's  Secretary  of  State;  Freddie  Gebhard,  Elbridge  T. 

xxxvii 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

Gerry,  Wendell  Goodwin,  one-time  captain  of  the  Harvard 
crew;  J.  N.  A.  Griswold,  Herman  Oelrichs,  Henry  Mar- 
quand,  George  B.  McClellan,  president  of  the  Board  of 
Aldermen;  Gouverneur  Morris,  Thomas  Newbold,  J.  Hamp- 
den Robb,  George  Lorillard  Reynolds,  Montgomery  Roose- 
velt, John  Rutherfurd,  George  Schermerhorn,  thirty  or  forty 
Smiths,  hyphenated  and  single-breasted;  Hamilton  McKay 
Twombly,  Lawrence  Turnure,  William  Vandervoort,  W. 
Seward  Webb,  and  Willard  P.  Ward,  one  of  the  greatest 
clubmen  in  New  York,  who  belongs  to  nearly  all  the  "ger- 
man"  clubs,  the  University,  the  Calumet,  the  Knickerbocker, 
the  Metropolitan,  and  others. 

There  is  one  member  of  the  Club  without  a  sketch  of 
whom  no  article  on  the  Manhattan  Club  would  be  complete. 
He  is  Uncle  Thomas  Jefferson  Miller.  Uncle  Tom,  sad  to 
relate,  in  the  swell  new  club-house  does  n't  cut  such  a  figure 
as  in  former  days.  With  its  big  membership  of  over  a  thou- 
sand active  members  and  the  large  list  of  non-resident  mem- 
bers, this  is  quite  natural.  When  the  Club  was  at  the  old 
stand  at  Fifteenth  Street  and  Fifth  Avenue,  there  were 
about  six  hundred  members,  and  everybody  knew  everybody 
else.  It  has  now  grown  so  large  that  many  members  are 
unacquainted  with  each  other.  In  old  times  it  was  a  sort  of 
family  affair.  Uncle  Tom  prescribed  the  menu,  and  it  was 
considered  good  form.  He  had  a  great  display  of  inventions, 
among  them  some  that  would  have  plagued  the  author  of 
the  "Physiology  of  Taste."  Uncle  Tom  has  discovered  a 
great  many  things  that  Savarin  did  not  live  long  enough  to 
find  out.  His  cunning  has  developed  a  lot  of  delightful 
things  to  eat  that  Savarin  did  not  know  existed;  for  instance, 
Milford  clams,  Lynn  Haven  Bay  oysters,  oyster-crabs, 
diamond-back  terrapin,  canvasback  ducks,  and  pompano. 
Uncle  Tom  does  not  go  into  the  kitchen  now.  He  used  to, 
and  it  is  said  of  him  that  he  could  make  a  Hollandaise  sauce 
light  enough  to  rival  a  feather.    The  magical  things  that 

xxxviii 


INTRODUCTORY 

Uncle  Tom  can  make  out  of  every-day  cheese,  a  little  heat,, 
and  a  chafing-dish  remain  as  pleasant  memories  in  otherwise 
very  foggy  nights.  Uncle  Tom  is  no  timid  suggester  of  how 
things  should  be  done,  but  a  forcible  and  direct  person,  who, 
knowing  what  he  wants,  applies  himself  at  once  to  the  situ- 
ation; and  when  he  is  devising  a  "rabbit"  at  about  half -past 
twelve  o'clock  at  night,  nothing  is  allowed  to  occur  in  that 
room  except  the  ordinary  breathing  of  the  onlookers. 

Uncle  Tom's  distinction  would  not  be  justified  if  his  great 
abilities  had  been  alone  displayed  in  the  kitchen  or  at  the 
chafing-dish.  He  never  reaches  his  full  splendor  until  things 
are  served,  and  then  woe  betide  the  captain  of  the  watch  if 
his  spoon  is  not  set  at  an  exact  and  peculiar  angle,  all  his 
own,  to  his  fork  and  his  knife  and  his  various  other  parapher- 
nalia for  enjoying  the  things  he  has  ordered  to  eat !  It  has 
been  said  that  his  salad-dressing  is  a  symposium.  When 
Uncle  Tom  mixes  salad-dressing  it  is  a  thing  of  g^eat  de- 
light, a  large  physical  effort,  accompanied  by  a  merry  noise 
of  spoons  and  forks,  wooden  and  metal.  The  equipment  of 
knowledge  that  is  required  to  arrive  at  the  distinction  Uncle 
Tom  has  attained  may  be  imagined  from  the  fact  that  on 
several  occasions  during  his  career  of  fifteen  or  more  years 
in  the  Club  he  has  made  violent  protestations  to  the  House 
Committee  on  the  quality  of  the  table  salt  furnished.  Ordi- 
nary mortals  may  complain  about  the  over-ripeness  of  their 
oil  or  of  the  too  keen  acidity  of  their  vinegar,  but  when  it 
gets  to  salt  it  requires  the  fine  critical  judgment  that  only 
Uncle  Thomas  Jefferson  Miller  possesses.* 

IV 

The  initiation  fee  is  now  $250,  and  the  dues  $75  a  year.  Any 
member  may  become  a  life  member  on  pa5mient  of  $1000  in 
addition  to  the  initiation  fee  of  $250. 

^  His  tragic  end  is  told  elsewhere  in  this  history. 

xxxix 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

Among  the  well-known  members  of  the  Club  are :  Henry 
E.  Abbey,  the  musical  impresario;  Governor  Werts,  Collin 
Armstrong,  John  H.  V.  Arnold,  ex-president  of  the  Board 
of  Aldermen  and  president  of  the  Democratic  Club ;  Samuel 
D.  Babcock,  Congressman  Franklin  Bartlett,  ex-Surveyor 
Hans  S.  Beattie,  Henry  R.  Beekman,  William  K.  Vanderbilt, 
M.  C.  Bouvier,  John  M.  Bowers,  ex-Sheriff  Peter  Bowe, 
Martin  B.  Brown,  Colonel  John  C.  Calhoun,  grandson  of  the 
Great  Nullifier;  Charles  J.  Canda,  ex-assistant  treasurer; 
Henry  W.  Cannon,  ex-comptroller  of  the  currency,  president 
of  the  Chase  National  Bank,  and  commissioner  at  the 
Monetary  Conference  recently  held  in  Brussels,  and  a  Re- 
publican; President  Grover  Cleveland,  Congressman  W. 
Bourke  Cockran,  Austin  Corbin,  James  J.  Coogan,  who  ran 
for  mayor  on  the  Labor  ticket;  Macgrane  Coxe,  ex-assistant 
district  attorney ;  Chamberlain  Thomas  C.  T.  Crain,  John  D. 
Crimmins,  Thomas  E.  Crimmins,  Richard  Croker,  James  R. 
Cuming,  Augustin  Daly,  George  Lord  Day,  Charles  W. 
Dayton,  Alfred  de  Cordova,  Judge  P.  Henry  Dugro,  Harvey 
Durand,  General  Ferdinand  P.  Earle,  a  great  friend  of 
Senator  Hill;  Timothy  C.  Eastman,  ex-Mayor  Franklin  Ed- 
son,  Frank  A.  Ehret,  the  brewer;  Amos  Eno,  Charles  S. 
Fairchild,  ex-secretary  of  the  treasury;  Assemblyman  Per- 
cival  Farquhar,  Congressman  John  R.  Fellows,  Surrogate 
Frank  T.  Fitzgerald,  Governor  Flower,  George  F.  Foster, 
Hugh  R.  Garden,  president  of  the  Southern  Society;  ex- 
Senator  John  Fox,  Sheriff  John  J.  Gorman,  ex-Mayor  Wil- 
liam R.  Grrace,  ex-Mayor  Hugh  J.  Grant,  Theodore  Have- 
meyer,  Joseph  C.  Hendrix,  ex-postmaster  of  Brooklyn  and 
now  a  congressman;  Henry  Hentz,  ex-president  of  the 
Cotton  Exchange;  Joseph  Hoadley,  ex-governor  of  Ohio; 
Excise  Commissioner  Leicester  Holme,  William  B.  Horn- 
blower,  Henry  L.  Horton,  John  H.  Newman,  ex-Senator 
Eugene  S.  Ives,  Charles  A.  Jackson,  formerly  of  the  County 
Democracy  and  now  of  Tammany ;  Edward  Kearney,  John  D. 

xl 


INTRODUCTORY 

Keman,  of  Utica;  John  King,  president  of  the  Erie;  Daniel 
S.  Lamont,  secretary  of  war;  Henry  Marquand,  Police  Com- 
missioner James  J.  Martin,  Judge  Randolph  B.  Martine,  F. 
O.  Matthiessen,  John  A.  McCall,  president  of  the  New  York 
Life  Insurance  Company;  George  B.  McClellan,  son  of 
General  McClellan  and  president  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen; 
Delos  McCurdy,  St.  Clair  McKelway,  editor  of  the  "Brook- 
lyn Eagle";  Cord  Meyer,  Jr.,  Gouvemeur  W.  Morris,  Jordan 
L.  Mott,  Jr.,  Comptroller  Theodore  W.  Myers,  ex-Sheriff 
James  O'Brien,  Joseph  J.  O'Donohue,  Herman  Oelrichs, 
Oswald  Ottendorfer,  J.  H.  Parker,  president  of  the  United 
States  Bank;  Oliver  H.  Pa5me,  brother-in-law  of  William  C. 
Whitney;  Wheeler  H.  Peckham,  Francis  K.  Pendleton,  son 
of  "Gentleman  George,"  who  was  minister  to  Germany 
and  candidate  for  Vice-President  on  the  McClellan  ticket; 
Lloyd  Phoenix,  Frank  Riggs,  Jacob  Ruppert,  William  Mc- 
Murtrie  Speer,  Edmund  C.  Stanton,  William  Steinway, 
Isidor  Straus,  Nathan  Straus,  General  Sam  Thomas,  treas- 
urer of  the  Republican  State  Committee;  Lawrence  Turnure, 
Hamilton  McK.  Twombly,  son-in-law  of  William  H.  Van- 
derbilt ;  Jenkins  Van  Schaick,  Police  Justice  John  H.  Voor- 
his,  James  E.  Ward,  the  steamship  man;  W.  Seward  Webb, 
of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad ;  Police  Justice  Andrew  J. 
White,  Orme  Wilson,  who  married  Miss  Astor,  and  his 
father,  Richard  T.  Wilson,  the  banker ;  James  T.  Woodward, 
president  of  the  Hanover  National  Bank,  and  Isidor  Worm- 
ser,  who  has  just  been  disciplined  by  the  Stock  Exchange  for 
punching  a  broker. 

Among  the  non-resident  members  are  Thurlow  Weed 
Barnes,  grandson  of  the  great  Republican  "boss"  of  the 
State  thirty  years  ago;  Wilson  S.  Bissell,  now  postmaster- 
general;  George  Bleistein,  editor  of  the  Buffalo  "Courier"; 
Benjamin  T.  Cable,  of  the  National  Democratic  Committee; 
Patrick  Calhoim,  son  of  the  NuUifier;  Caldwell  H.  Colt, 
owner  of  the  "Dauntless";  John  R.  Drexel,  of  the  famous 

xli 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

Drexel  family  of  Philadelphia;  N.  K.  Fairbanks,  the  packer 
of  Chicago;  J.  B.  Haggin,  William  A.  Hammond,  once  sur- 
geon-general of  the  army;  George  Hearst,  of  California; 
Benjamin  Lefevre,  of  the  National  Democratic  Committee 
of  1888;  Thomas  Lowry,  the  millionaire  railroad  manager 
of  Minneapolis;  Senator  Edward  Murphy,  Jr.,  of  Troy;  Ed- 
ward J.  Phelps,  ex-minister  to  the  Court  of  St.  James;  Colo- 
nel William  G.  Rice,  formerly  private  secretary  to  Governor 
Hill;  Bradley  B.  Smalley,  National  Democratic  committee- 
man from  Vermont;  Congressman  Tracey,  of  Albany;  John 
H.  Van  Antwerp,  of  Albany;  Henry  Watterson,  father  of 
the  star-eyed  goddess  of  reform  of  the  Blue-grass  State,  and 
Smith  M.  Weed,  of  Plattsburg. 

The  advantages  of  the  Manhattan  Club  are  many.  The 
best  whiskey  is  sold  there  at  ten  cents  a  glass.  It  is  the  best 
in  the  market,  and  even  at  ten  cents  a  glass  there  is  a  profit 
to  the  Club.  Cigars  are  sold  at  ten  per  cent,  over  cost.  The 
best  whiskey  is  sold  at  other  places  at  twenty-five  cents  a 
glass,  and  the  profit  on  cigars  in  some  of  the  swell  hotels  and 
cafes  up-town  is  sometimes  nearly  thirty  per  cent.  You  can 
get  the  finest  dinner  in  the  land  at  the  Manhattan  at  prices 
which  are  twenty-five  per  cent,  below  those  charged  by  Del- 
monico.  More  famous  drinks  have  been  invented  at  the 
Manhattan  than  at  any  other  place  in  the  country.* 

1  None  ever  invented  was  so  popular  as  the  "Sam  Ward."  This  was  a  crea- 
tion of  the  famous  Uncle  Sam  Ward,  and  is  made  of  yellow  chartreuse,  cracked 
ice,  and  lemon-peel.  The  celebrated  Manhattan  cocktail  was  inaugurated  at 
the  Club.  This  consists  of  equal  portions  of  vermouth  and  whiskey,  with  a 
dash  of  orange  bitters.    Some  of  the  later  drinks  are: 

Frappe  New  Orleans  k  la  Graham,  which  consists  of  mint,  sugar,  and  whis- 
key. 

Royal  cup,  which  consists  of  a  pint  of  champagne,  a  quart  of  Bordeaux,  plam 
soda,  one  pony  of  brandy,  one  pony  of  maraschino,  lemon  juice,  sugar,  mint, 
fruits  in  season,  and  a  cucumber. 

Manhattan  cocktail  a  la  Gilbert,  consisting  of  Amerpicon  bitters,  French 
vermouth,  and  whiskey. 

The  Manhattan  cooler  k  la  McGregor,  made  of  lemon  juice,  sugar,  Scotch 
whiskey,  and  plain  soda. 

The  Columbus  cocktail,  composed  of  orange  bitters,  acid  phosphate,  calisaya, 
whiskey,  and  a  dash  of  curagoa. 

The  Brut  cocktail,  made  of  orange  bitters,  acid  phosphate,  maraschino,  and 
vermouth. 

xlii 


INTRODUCTORY 

Mr.  Riggs  omits  from  his  lifelike  and  charming  sketch  the 
feeling  of  hostility  which  from  the  first  asserted  itself  against 
the  Stewart  mansion.  It  was  variously  called  the  "Marble 
Mausoleum"  and  the  "Whited  Sepulchre."  Many  long- 
time members  of  the  Club  were  conspicuous  rather  by  their 
absence  than  their  presence.  It  was,  they  said,  "too  fine  for 
comfort."  The  expense  it  entailed  was  out  of  all  proportion 
to  any  advantage  it  could  possibly  serve,  and  it  was  both  a 
personal  and  financial  relief  when,  through  the  efforts  of 
Mr.  William  S.  Rodie  and  Mr.  Sylvester  J.  O'SuUivan,  the 
lease  was  cancelled  and  the  removal  secured  to  the  present 
commodious  and  homelike  club-house,  purchased  from  the 
Jerome  estate  and  newly  refitted,  at  the  intersection  of 
Twenty-sixth  Street  with  Madison  Avenue,  overlooking  the 
pleascmt  shades  cuid  greenswards  of  the  far-famed  historic 
Madison  Square. 

The  Riding  Club  cocktail,  consisting  of  calisaya,  lemon  juice,  and  Angostura 
bitters. 

The  Racquet  cocktail,  consisting  of  gin,  vermouth,  orange  bitters,  and  creme 
de  cacao. 

The  Star  cocktail,  made  of  applejack,  vermouth,  yellow  chartreuse,  and 
cherry-bounce. 

Queen  Anne  cocktail,  made  of  brandy,  vermouth,  orange  bitters,  and  maras- 
chino. 

The  Plimpton  cocktail,  which  consists  of  Jamaica  rum,  vermouth,  and  An- 
gostura bitters. 

The  Smithtown  cocktail,  made  of  orange  bitters,  lemon  juice,  whiskey,  and 
vermouth. 

Indeed,  the  Club  has  drinks  for  every  day  in  the  year,  Sundays  included;  for 
all  seasons,  and  national,  State,  and  city  festivals. 


3(n  iM^emorp 

OF  THE 

LOVED  AND  HONORED 

MEMBERS 

OF 

THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

WHO  HAVE 

GONE  BEFORE 


HISTORY  OF  THE 
MANHATTAN  CLUB 


CHAPTER  THE  FIRST 

A  Brief  Discussion  of  the  Origin  of  Clubs,  with  some  detailed  Refer- 
ence to  the  Growth  of  "Political  Clubs"  in  this  Country— The  State 
of  the  Democratic  Party  in  the  Summer  of  1865— The  actual  Begin- 
ning of  the  Manhattan  Club— Patriotic  Motives  of  the  Founders. 

ETWEEN  the  public  dining-tables  of  what 
we  call  the  ancient  world  and  the  organized 
clubs  of  modern  society,  many  centuries  in- 
tervene. Coming  down  from  the  group 
clubs  of  Athens  and  Sparta  through  the 
ages,  we  traverse  a  wide  but  not  a  variegate 
territory,  passing  the  circuli,  or  confrater- 
nities, where  Cicero  found  such  good  company  and  conversa- 
tion, and  of  which  Plutarch  has  left  us  details  that  prove 
their  laws  to  have  been  similar  to  the  club  rules  of  to-day; 
the  old  tavern  and  coffee-house  clubs  of  England ;  the  Jaco- 
bin clubs  of  France  and  America;  and,  finally,  the  f sir-reach- 
ing, all-pervading  contemporary  clubs,  which,  according  to 
Austin  Leigh's  Club  Directory  of  19 10,  embrace  three  thou- 
sand English-speaking  clubs  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  with 
nineteen  hundred  and  three  in  non-English-speaking  coun- 
tries. 

"Man,"  Addison  tells  us,  "is  a  social  animal,"  naively  add- 
ing that  when  two  or  three  of  these  "animals"  find  them- 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

selves  in  agreement,  they  form  a  club.  He  further  proceeds 
to  say  that  since  the  points  upon  which  most  men  agree  are 
food  and  drink,  the  founders  of  the  clubs,  so  organized,  look 
carefully  to  choice  viands  and  rare  wines.  Dr.  Johnson  de- 
clares the  club  to  be  "an  assembly  of  good  fellows  meeting 
under  certain  conditions."    Both  were  right. 

The  most  careful  study  of  club  life  goes  to  demonstrate 
that  the  club  dinner,  whether  evolved  from  the  Attic  feasts 
sung  by  Archestratus,  or  the  cooking-schools  of  epicurean 
Rome  and  onward  down  to  that  of  the  Manhattan  Club,  de- 
scribed by  Mr.  Julius  J.  Lyons  (whose  ice-cream,  he  declared, 
was  so  superior  to  the  ice-cream  of  Delmonico's,  then  just 
over  the  way  from  the  club-house, — to  be  told  by  Judge 
Henry  Wilder  Allen  that  the  Manhattan  had  bought  that 
very  ice-cream  from  that  very  Delmonico's),  the  ingredients 
and  the  chefs,  have  been  the  best  the  time  and  the  town  had 
to  offer. 

The  "certain  conditions"  of  Dr.  Johnson  have  varied,  how- 
ever, under  different  demands  and  expediencies,  and  it  is  due 
to  their  broadening  and  amplification  that  such  numbers  of 
clubs,  representing  every  avenue  of  modern  development 
along  lines  of  politics,  letters,  art,  business,  recreation  and 
social  life,  are  now  in  existence. 

The  earliest  of  all  the  clubs,  the  groups  of  Athens,  had  for 
their  "certain  conditions"  only  Addison's  requirement  of 
food  and  drink,  their  incentive  the  desire  of  some  fifteen  or 
twenty  congenial  spirits  to  enjoy  one  another's  society  about 
a  common  dining-table.  Admission  to  each  table  was  by 
ballot,  one  black  ball  defeating.  Elected,  the  newcomer  was 
required  to  observe  the  established  rules  on  pain  of  expul- 
sion. 

The  pioneer  clubman  of  note  seems  to  have  been  Themis- 
tocles,  his  successor  being  Cimon,  son  of  Mithridates,  who 
took  the  next  step  in  club  progress  by  organizing  certain 
of  these  casual  groups  of  co-operative  diners  into  a  select  and 

4 


mm^!^^ 


Woodrow  Wilson 


^.^j^^^mz 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

club  members'  enjoyment  through  any  loosening  of  his  purse 
strings. 

One  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  Hoccleve,  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh  immortalized  the  "Mermaid  Tavern"  of  London, 
when,  with  Francis  Bacon  and  Ben  Jonson,  he  founded  there 
his  club  of  that  name. 

The  club  thenceforward  began  to  demonstrate  its  power 
and  its  usefulness,  its  history  revealing  that  within  its  con- 
fines and  from  its  discussions  have  originated  some  of  the 
most  important  enterprises  in  history.  At  the  "Mermaid" 
many  books  now  classic  were  discussed  in  their  making. 
There  it  was  that  Raleigh  gave  impulse  to  "Americana"  by 
suggesting  to  Haikluyt  the  idea  of  editing  Peter  Martyr's 
"Discovery  of  the  New  World,"  in  which  he  himself  was  so 
interested.  Imperial  free  trade  was  also  first  threshed  out 
by  Raleigh  at  the  "Mermaid,"  he  supplying  data  for  the  dis- 
cussion from  observations  in  Holland  and  Venice.  Raleigh 
was  thus  the  earliest  of  British  empire-builders,  setting  in 
motion  ideas  which  have  lost  little,  if  any,  of  their  vitality. 

In  1 619  Ben  Jonson  led  the  survivors  of  the  Mermaid  Club 
to  the  more  fashionable  tavern  of  one  Wadlowe,  between  the 
Inner  Temple  and  Fleet  Street  and  the  Strand,  known  as  the 
"Sign  of  the  Devil."  Down  to  this  time  the  club  had  met  at 
some  convenient  tavern,  or  public  dining-table.  Ben  Jonson, 
in  founding  his  new  "Club  of  the  Apollo,"  made  one  of  the 
most  important  innovations  in  club  history.  He  hired  a  per- 
manent room  for  its  meetings,  arranging  its  furniture  ac- 
cording to  the  taste  of  the  club,  and  not  that  of  the  tapster. 
The  club  thus  acquired  its  own  dwelling,  and  the  casual  de- 
parted from  its  history :  an  incalculable  benefit,  since  it  thus 
gave  its  members  a  species  of  home,  offering  not  only  physi- 
cal comforts  at  small  cost  because  of  co-operation,  but  social 
and  intellectual  possibilities,  the  charm  of  possession  beget- 
ting in  its  members  a  proprietary  interest  in  their  own  or- 
ganization. 

6 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

To  the  Apollo  Club  is  due  the  inauguration  of  club  dinners 
or  "house  nights,"  as  well  as  that  of  "ladies*  night,"  when 
members  of  the  opposite  sex  were  invited  for  social  and 
musical  entertainment.  So  fashionable  did  this  club  of 
"rare  Ben  Jonson"  become  that  it  has  been  described  as  a 
"monument,  a  reflection  and  an  epitome  of  the  virtues,  vices, 
the  social  foibles  and  tendencies  which  mark  its  time,"  a 
description  almost  identical  in  suggestion  with  one  given  by 
Mr.  A.  J.  Dufour  of  the  Manhattan. 

The  Manhattan  Club  has  had  within  its  fold  men  promi- 
nent in  every  calling  of  life :  lawyers,  physicians,  statesmen, 
politicians,  jurists,  etc.  It  also  numbers  in  the  ranks  of 
its  children  many  who,  by  their  mode  of  living,  their  per- 
sonal charm,  and  their  innate  knowledge  of  the  good  things 
of  this  life  and  the  method  of  properly  assimilating  them, 
have  made  for  themselves  reputations  which  will  go  down  in 
the  annals  of  the  Club  as  worthy  of  a  greater  decoration  than 
the  famous  "Cordon  Bleu,"  causing  much  rejoicing  among 
the  "bon-vivants,"  and  establishing  the  precedence  of  matter 
over  mind.  From  any  point  of  view,  there  must  be  in  a  club 
a  certain  set  of  unbound,  unleashed  spirits  acting  in  a  sense 
as  a  foil  to  the  maturer  minds  of  the  more  experienced 
and  conservative.  To  maintain  the  balance  of  a  club,  of  a 
social  and  political  compound,  this  would  seem  indispensable. 
As  it  were,  it  gives  a  certain  "prestige."  A  glance  at  the 
Club*s  roster,  especially  within  the  last  twenty-five  years, 
will  demonstrate  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  that  it 
claims  among  its  members  some  of  the  joUiest  "viveurs"  and 
most  delightful  epicureans  that  any  city  can  boast:  men  of 
wide-travelling  experience,  visitors  to  many  lands,  absorbers 
of  their  customs  and  manners,  who,  receivers  of  their  best 
and  broadest  thoughts,  brought  back  with  them  to  the  "Old 
Manhattan"  the  most  fruitful  results  of  their  knowledge. 
Their  names  are  legion,  and  a  great  many  of  them  are  still 
enjoying  the  pleasures  and  comforts  of  this  world.    They 

7 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

are  well  known,  and  the  Manhattan  will  never  forget  its 
debt  to  them. 

But  before  proceeding  with  the  Manhattan,  let  us  com- 
plete the  narrative  of  some  of  its  more  famous  English  pro- 
genitors. 

At  the  Apollo  politics  again  entered  into  club  life,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  Whig  loyalists  in  1690  mustering  at  its  quar- 
ters in  support  of  William  III  before  the  Irish  expedition 
and  the  battle  of  the  Boyne. 

Of  the  Commonwealth  period,  the  Rota,  with  its  fluent 
but  imprudent  talkers,  stands  out  pre-eminent.  Coffee  was 
its  drink,  Irish  politics  its  conversation,  and  of  its  famous 
members  Lord  William  Russell  and  Algernon  Sidney  lost 
their  heads  for  complicity  in  the  Rye  House  Plot.  The 
founder  of  the  Rota  was  Sir  James  Harrington.  The  club 
met  at  the  "Turk's  Head,"  a  tavern  of  New  Palace  Yard, 
and  was  exclusively  political,  dying  eleven  weeks  before 
Charles  II  landed  at  Dover. 

Of  the  many  clubs  of  the  Restoration  period,  the  "Club  of 
the  Kings,"  the  "Shaftesbury"  and  the  "Civil"  are  most 
tj^ical.  The  latter,  founded  in  1669,  marks  the  next  sig- 
nificant departure  in  the  scope  of  club  life. 

The  Civil  Club,  we  learn,  became  a  socio-commercial 
power,  precursor,  we  may  conclude,  of  the  business  club  of 
to-day.  It  boasted  also  its  own  chaplain,  and  its  chef  first 
introduced  into  the  club  menu  roast  game  and  poultry,  his 
bills  of  fare  being  those  of  the  earliest  club  dinners  of  the 
present  type.  In  this  resume  we  must  not  forget  the  "pro- 
prietary" clubs.  Such  was  "White's,"  founded  by  an  Italian 
named  Bianco,  and  run  after  his  death  by  his  widow,  Eliza- 
beth, assisted  by  a  Schweitzer  named  John  James  Heidegger, 
who  made  himself  the  fashion  as  the  "Swiss  Count."  To  him 
is  claimed  to  be  due  the  rise  of  opera  in  England,  since  with 
Mrs.  White  he  established  a  bureau  where  tickets  for  the 
theatres,  operas  and  masked  balls,  so  frowned  upon  by  the 

8 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

clergy,  could  be  obtained.  "White's"  has  been  adjudged  the 
precursor  and  model  of  all  modern  clubs,  for  it  gave  rise  to 
a  famous  series  of  organizations,  of  which  the  "Kit-Kat,"  the 
"Rag,"  "Watier's,"  "Brooks's,"  "Crockford's,"  and  "Al- 
mack's"  are  famous  examples. 

**To  'White's,'  "  says  T.  H.  S.  Escott,  in  his  "Club  Making 
and  Club  Members,"  "the  club  system  of  to-day  owes  the 
giving  of  admission  to  a  club  as  not  only  a  conventional 
honor  but  a  social  credential  of  definite  significance  and 
practical  value." 

This  was  accomplished  first  by  the  forbidding  of  the  use 
of  tobacco  in  any  form  but  snuff,  the  method  of  whose  taking 
was  refined  at  "White's"  to  an  art,  at  a  time  when  smoking 
was  permitted  ever5rwhere  else ;  by  a  severe — and  somewhat 
unjust,  perhaps — discipline  of  the  ballot;  by  an  air  of  fash- 
ionable exclusiveness  never  relaxed;  by  the  cultivation  of 
prejudice  against  radical  changes;  and  by  the  practice  of  al- 
lotting private  rooms  to  favored  habitues. 

At  "White's"  also  could  be  found  not  only  the  London 
papers,  but  foreign  ones  as  well;  while  games  of  cards,  then 
still  more  or  less  of  a  novelty,  were  permitted,  Horace  Wal- 
pole  confiding  how  he  sometimes  sat  up  there  all  night 
playing  faro. 

After  "White's"  club  life  became  modern,  amplifying  and 
developing  the  possibilities  of  those  "certain  conditions" 
until  there  were  jockey  clubs  in  Paris  as  in  London,  and 
army  and  navy,  the  writers,  the  eU^tists,  the  professions  gen- 
erally, business,  leisure,  fashion,  sport,  religion,  the  rich,  the 
poor,  the  politician,  the  actor,  all  had  clubs  of  their  own. 
Woman  began  to  organize  her  clubs  likewise.  Golf  has 
called  into  existence  thousands  all  over  the  world.  So  popu- 
lar, indeed,  were  the  luncheon  clubs  of  the  Great  Metropolis 
that  in  1896  there  were  twenty-eight  thousand  club  men  and 
women  in  New  York  City  alone. 

Recurring  to  America,  the  two  earliest  clubs,  "The  Fish 

9 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

House  Club"  of  Philadelphia  and  the  "Hoboken  Turtle 
Club"  of  New  York,  founded  respectively  in  1717  and  1797, 
were  established  upon  the  Addisonian  basis  of  good  fare  and 
pleasant  company. 

There  were,  however,  soon  after  these  were  started,  those 
early  organizations  known  as  "Sons  of  Liberty"  and  "Sons 
of  St.  Tammany,"  whose  province  was  political,  their  aim 
being  to  arouse  anti-British  feeling  and  to  disseminate  know- 
ledge concerning  the  principles  of  true  political  liberty.  One 
William  Mooney,  an  upholsterer  of  23  Nassau  Street,  New 
York,  an  ardent  patriot,  conceived  and  carried  out  the  idea 
of  organizing  these  "Sons  of  Liberty"  and  "Sons  of  St.  Tam- 
many," the  latter  called  after  an  Indian  chief  in  derision  of 
England*s  St.  George,  into  a  society  whose  object  was  to  be 
the  spreading  throughout  the  States  of  institutions  and  men 
bent  on  the  preservation  of  a  just  balance  of  power,  an  object 
declared  to  be  both  republican  and  patriotic.  This  club 
chose  for  its  name  "The  Society  of  St.  Tammany,"  or  the 
"Columbian  Order,"  and  it  quickly  arranged  magnificent 
parades  in  which  its  members,  bearing  high-sounding  Indian 
titles,  were  dressed  as  native  American  chiefs  and  tricked  out 
in  all  their  war  paint  and  feathers. 

Opposed  as  this  club  was  to  every  trend  of  aristocracy,  it 
counted  as  its  natural  enemy  the  newly  organized  "Society 
of  the  Cincinnati,"  whose  members,  including  Washington, 
were  officers  that  had  survived  the  Revolution.  The  chief 
feature  of  this  club,  condemned  by  Thomas  Jefferson  as  lead- 
ing Democracy  towards  Aristocracy  both  in  theory  and 
practice,  was  its  exclusiveness.  It  even  planned  to  have  its 
membership  and  insignia  pass  down  by  primogeniture  in- 
heritance. 

Aaron  Burr  became  the  idol  of  Tammany,  Alexander 
Hamilton  of  the  Cincinnati,  the  former  actually  striving  to 
bring  Burr  into  favor  again  after  his  fall. 

More  troublesome  to  the  government  were  the  Jacobin 

10 


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^ 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

clubs,  thorn  in  the  flesh  of  Washington's  administration, 
and  directly  opposed  to  his  policy  of  non-interference  in 
European  politics.  Their  avowed  object  was  the  creating  of 
sympathy  with  Republican  France,  then  in  the  early  stages 
of  her  Revolution,  and  they  spread  with  alarming  rapidity. 
While  Tammany  only  succeeded  in  starting  affiliated  clubs 
at  Philadelphia,  Lexington  (Kentucky),  Brooklyn  and  Provi- 
dence, Jacobin  clubs  sprang  to  life  everywhere, — one,  the 
"Society  of  Charleston,  S.  C,"  on  its  own  application,  being 
accepted  by  the  Jacobin  Club  of  Paris  as  a  branch.  A  record 
of  their  queer  propaganda,  their  processions  and  parades, 
their  toasts  of  "Long  live  France  and  Robespierre !"  and  all 
their  paraphernalia  of  Liberty,  has  been  described  for  pos- 
terity by  a  writer  calling  himself  "Peter  Porcupine." 

Though  they  came  to  an  end  as  Jacobin  clubs,  public  S5mi- 
pathy  dying  away  as  France  proceeded  to  her  excesses,  one, 
"The  Democratic  Society"  of  Philadelphia,  at  that  time  the 
seat  of  government,  modelled  upon  the  Jacobin  Club  of 
Paris,  lives  on  in  American  politics  as  the  Democratic  Party, 
which,  having  Thomas  Jefferson  for  its  father,  continues  to 
promulgate  and  jealously  to  guard  his  doctrines. 

In  1805  the  "Society  of  St.  Tammany"  divided  itself  into 
two  sections,  the  new  division,  under  the  guise  of  being  or- 
ganized to  aid  widows  and  orphans  and  others  in  need,  tak- 
ing the  name  of  Tammany  Hall.  It  became  quickly  a 
political  rallying-ground,  its  early  idol,  Aaron  Burr,  being 
succeeded  in  the  course  of  years  by  many  leaders.  Originally 
its  aims  were  the  spreading  of  Democracy  by  speeches,  pam- 
phlets and  all  social  means  in  its  power,  its  methods  being 
evolved  in  the  "Long  Room"  at  Nassau  and  Spruce  Streets, 
where  the  members  gathered  to  "smoke  and  swap  stories." 
Among  its  real  services  to  the  country  were  the  securing  of 
manhood  suffrage  and  the  abolition  of  laws  imprisoning 
debtors. 

The  first  club  of  New  York  founded  on  the  lines  of  the 

zz 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

London  social  clubs  was  the  "Union,"  organized  in  1836,  and 
followed,  after  ten  years,  by  the  "Century." 

The  year  i860  found  Tammany  Hall  pro-Slavery,  with  its 
political  rival,  Mozart  Hall,  out  and  out  for  the  Union.  The 
Northern  Democrats,  however,  stood,  in  the  final  issue,  by 
the  Federal  Government,  and  in  1864  nominated  McClellan 
for  the  Presidency,  against  Lincoln. 

With  the  re-election  of  Lincoln,  the  Democratic  Party 
expected  to  endure  the  oblivion  of  defeat,  when,  by  the  as- 
sassination of  Lincoln,  Andrew  Johnson  came  to  the  Presi- 
dential chair,  and  its  hopes  revived,  since  Johnson,  though  a 
Southerner  who  had  remained  loyal  when  his  State  of  Ten- 
nessee had  seceded,  was  fundamentally  imbued  with  Jeff er- 
sonian  principles. 

The  whole  country,  in  1865,  was  in  a  state  of  confusion. 
The  main  issue,  however,  was  the  policy  to  be  adopted 
towards  the  conquered  South.  The  Democratic  Party 
sought  the  restoration,  not  the  subjugation,  of  the  South. 
There  were  many  questions  relating  to  "the  States  lately  in 
rebellion,"  the  status  of  the  negro,  the  reduction  of  the  army 
and  navy,  the  Freedman's  Bureau,  and  other  political  in- 
strumentalities designed  more  or  less  to  fix  Republican  su- 
premacy. The  dominant  majority,  radicalized  by  the  assas- 
sination of  Lincoln,  stood  for  "Reconstruction"  at  whatever 
cost.  Such  was  the  situation  in  1865.  Democracy,  seeing  its 
opportunity,  began  plans  of  revitalization.  The  Republicans 
had  foimded  a  club,  the  Union  League,  which  by  social,  in- 
tellectual, and  political  prestige  was  to  advance  that  party's 
interests.  It  had  rendered  invaluable  service  in  the  campaign 
of  1864,  when  General  George  B.  McClellan  was  defeated  by 
Abraham  Lincoln. 

Tammany  Hall,  at  the  time,  was  practically  the  only 
Democratic  club  in  New  York.  Its  scope  was  not  identical 
with  that  which,  in  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Douglas  Taylor,  was 
plainly  required  for  the  work  to  be  done.    Mr.  Taylor,  ac- 

12 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

cordingly,  at  a  meeting  of  the  "McClellan  Executive  Com- 
mittee," of  which  he  was  secretary,  held  at  Delmonico's  in 
the  winter  of  1864-5,  proposed  the  formation  of  a  more 
authoritative  Democratic  body.  His  idea  was  received  with 
enthusiasm,  and  during  the  early  weeks  of  the  following 
spring  certain  gentlemen  of  Democratic  principles  met  at 
Mr.  Taylor's  office,  at  the  office  of  Mr.  Augustus  Schell,  at 
the  home  of  Mr.  Manton  Marble,  and  at  Delmonico's  to  form 
plans  for  the  founding  of  a  Democratic  club  whose  object 
was  to  be  "the  advancing  of  Democratic  principles,  the  pro- 
motion of  social  intercourse  among  its  members,  and  the 
providing  them  with  the  conveniences  of  a  club-house."  The 
summer  vacations  interfering,  nothing  was  finally  done  until 
the  fall,  when  the  "Manhattan  Club"  was  chosen  for  its 
name  and  certain  gentlemen  referred  to  in  the  records  as 
"representative  Democrats  who  might  fitly  be  associated 
together  as  to  its  nucleus  and  managing  committee,"  were 
appointed. 

This  committee,  holding  meetings  with  Mr.  Augustus 
Schell  in  the  chair,  instructed  Mr.  G.  W.  McLean  and  Mr. 
Douglas  Taylor  "to  prepare  lists  of  the  names  of  Democrats 
who  might  properly  be  invited  to  become  members  of  the 
Club."  At  the  same  meeting  Mr.  Manton  Marble  was  in- 
structed to  draw  up  a  constitution,  which  was  amended  and 
accepted. 

The  organization  thus  arranged  was  effected  September 
25,  1865,  at  up-town  Delmonico's,  then  at  the  corner  of  Fifth 
Avenue  and  Fourteenth  Street.    The  officers  elected  were : 

President :  John  Van  Buren. 
Vice-President:  Augustus  Schell. 
Treasurer:  Wilson  G.  Hunt. 
Secretary :  Manton  Marble. 

Later  along,  November  17,  Mr.  Hiram  Cranston  was 
added  to  the  House  Committee,  and  General  John  A.  Dix 

X3 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

having  declined  membership,  Dean  Richmond  of  Buffalo 
was  elected  to  his  place  on  the  Managing  Committee.  Such 
was  the  official  beginning  of  the  Manhattan  Club.  Behind 
this  lies  the  story  of  how  Mr.  Taylor,  active  in  the  Young 
Men's  Democratic  Union  Club  of  1857,  with  its  "Grand 
Presidential  Ball"  in  honor  of  the  election  of  Buchanan  and 
Breckenridge,  and  its  annual  balls  at  the  City  Assembly 
Rooms,  and  treasurer  of  the  Young  Democracy  of  New 
York  of  1858,  believing,  after  the  war,  that  a  Democratic 
club,  other  than  Tammany  Hall,  the  sole  survivor,  was  nec- 
essary, went  about  its  accomplishment. 

"The  Manhattan  Club  really  had  its  start  in  1864,"  he 
stated  in  the  New  York  "Sun"  of  October  23,  1910,  "when 
George  B.  McClellan  was  running  for  President.  He  was 
in  the  *World'  office  nearly  every  day,  and  I  used  to  talk  to 
him.  He  went  at  first  to  see  Manton  Marble,  and  took  as  lit- 
tle interest  in  the  campaign  as  anybody  you  ever  saw.  One 
day  I  said,  ^General,  let's  get  up  a  club,'  and  he  said  he 
thought  I  could  launch  a  club  without  any  trouble, — a  club 
for  gentlemen, — and  the  more  and  more  we  talked  about  it 
the  better  it  seemed. 

"We  had  the  first  meeting  in  my  office,  in  Chambers  Street 
— I  was  Commissioner  of  Jurors  then.  Then  we  went  in 
search  of  a  place,  and  Marble  had  two  or  three  meetings  at 
his  office.  At  the  first  meeting  of  all  Charles  P.  Daly  came. 
The  Club  was  practically  organized  in  April,  1865. 

"John  Kelly  never  would  join  this  Club.  We  got  in  John 
Van  Buren,  James  T.  Brady,  Henry  Hilton,  and  John  R. 
Brady,  and  the  better  class  of  judges— Judges  Bosworth, 
Sanford  E.  Church,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Appeals, 
William  F.  Allen,  D.  P.  Ingraham,  Monell,  William  E.  Cur- 
tis, Daly,  Comstock,  Charles  F.  MacLean,  O' Gorman, 
Rapallo,  Abraham  R.  Lawrence,  Samuel  Jones,  and  so  forth. 
We  also  had  Horatio  Seymour,  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  Commo- 
dore Vanderbilt,  Dean  Richmond,  Samuel  L.  M.  Barlow, 

14 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

John  McKeon,  General  John  A.  Dix,  George  Law,  Thomas 
F.  Bayard,  John  T.  Hoffman,  Samuel  S.  Cox,  Charles 
0*Conor,  William  Butler  Duncan,  Gulian  C.  Verplanck, 
August  Belmont,  Augustus  Schell,  Sidney  Webster,  George 
H.  Pendleton,  William  C.  Prime,  Francis  Kernan,  and  Com- 
modore Garrison.    There  were  giants  in  those  days. 

"In  1866  we  elected  Andrew  Johnson.  We  expected  that 
if  he  would  come  to  a  Democratic  meeting  we  would  make  a 
Democrat  of  him.  I  think  he  was  about  four-fifths  one  at  that 
time.  Only  two  black  balls  were  necessary  out  of  twenty- 
five  to  reject,  because,  as  Manton  Marble  used  to  say,  it  was 
necessary  to  keep  it  a  high-toned  club,  and  he  exerted  his 
great  influence  to  have  only  gentlemen  admitted." 

Fortunately,  Mr.  Taylor,  whose  death  occurred  three 
years  ago,  preserved  a  copy  of  the  original  notice  sent  out  to 
possible  members.    It  reads : 

New  York,  April  18,  1865. 
Dear  Sir: — 

You  are  earnestly 
requested  to  meet  a  few 
friends  at  the  office 
of  the  Commissioner  of 
Jurors  (No.  3  Chambers  St.) 
on  Thursday  afternoon 
the  20th  next  at  4  o'clock 
to  confer  in  reference 
to  our  proposed 
Democratic  City 
Club. 

Yours  respectfully 

Douglas  Taylor. 
Joel  Wolfe. 
George  W.  McLean. 
Edward  L.  Corliss. 
M.  B.  Spaulding. 
15 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

Besides  the  committee,  Democrats  who  responded  were 
Messrs.  W.  D.  French,  C.  P.  Daly,  Daniel  E.  Delavan,  Mayor 
C.  Godfrey  Gunther,  John  T.  Hoffman,  George  W.  McLean, 
Edward  L.  Corliss,  Joseph  W.  Corliss,  James  T.  Brady, 
Nathaniel  Jarvis,  Udolpho  Wolfe,  M.  B.  Spaulding. 

Among  Mr.  Douglas  Taylor's  papers,  kindly  placed  at  the 
disposition  of  the  compiler  of  this  history  by  his  daughter. 
Miss  Clara  Taylor,  of  New  York,  are  the  signatures  of  all  the 
original  members.  In  addition  to  these  facts  given  by  Mr. 
Taylor  himself,  Mr.  Henry  M.  Steven,  in  an  article  on  the 
Club  in  the  "House  and  Country"  magazine  of  some  fifteen 
or  more  years  ago,  has  added  the  information  that  following 
Mr.  Taylor's  proposal  to  found  a  Democratic  club,  events 
were  delayed  by  Democratic  defeats,  but  that  when  Mr. 
Gulian  C.  Verplanck,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Century 
Club,  was  defeated  for  its  presidency  merely  because  of  his 
Democracy,  active  steps  were  at  once  taken,  with  the  Man- 
hattan Club  as  the  result. 


-■**ff!f^nT^:' 


CHAPTER  THE  SECOND 


The  First  Club-house— Early  Presidents  of  the  Club— 
"Prince  John"  Van  Buren 

HE  three  leading  clubs  in  New  York  City, 
when  the  Manhattan  Club  began  to  be  con- 
sidered and  discussed,  were  the  "Union," 
then  on  Bond  Street,  dating  back  to  1836; 
the  "Century,"  then  on  Broome  Street, 
founded  in  1846,  "for  the  cultivation  of  let- 
ters as  well  as  social  life,  and  to  entertain 
and  introduce  strangers";  and  the  "Union  League,"  organ- 
ized in  1863  by  New  York  Republicans,  with  its  club-house 
on  Madison  Square. 

The  Manhattan  aimed  from  its  inception  to  take  rank  with 
these,  and  for  forty  years  the  four  continued  to  be  the  most 
important  organizations  in  the  club  life  of  New  York. 

It  was  on  October  12,  1865,  that  the  first  businesslike 
steps  were  taken  towards  securing  a  suitable  club-house, 
Mr.  George  T.  Curtis,  Judge  Henry  Hilton,  and  Mr.  William 
F.  Allen  on  that  date  being  appointed  a  committee  "to  in- 
quire and  report  in  what  mode  this  Club  can  be  organized  as 
a  voluntary  association  until  it  can  be  organized  as  a  cor- 
poration, and  to  present  a  plan  for  that  purpose." 
Ten  days  later,  this  committee,  through  Mr.  Curtis,  re- 

17 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

ported  that,  in  its  opinion,  the  new  Club  could  not  conve- 
niently be  organized  under  the  law  of  the  last  legislature  for 
incorporating  similar  institutions,  as  the  law  then  stood,  and 
it  therefore  recommended  that,  in  addition  to  the  organiza- 
tion already  provided  for  by  the  Constitution,  three  trustees 
should  be  chosen  to  hold  the  titles  of  all  real  or  personal 
property  which  might  be  acquired  by  the  Club,  these  trus- 
tees, described  as  joint  tenants,  to  give  a  declaration  of  trust 
to  the  Governing  Committee  that  they  held  the  property  in 
trust  for  the  use  and  occupation  of  the  members  of  the  Man- 
hattan Club,  or  of  those  who  might  become  members,  in 
pursuance  of  its  Constitution  and  By-Laws. 

This  Declaration  of  Trust  was  to  be  recorded  in  the  min- 
utes of  the  Governing  Committee,  the  original  copy  to  be 
held  by  the  Secretary.  Should  a  trustee  resign  or  die,  his 
remaining  colleagues  were  to  appoint  his  successor,  a  new 
conveyance  to  the  Board  of  Trustees,  as  it  then  stood,  being 
made  by  the  surveyors  and  a  new  Declaration  of  Trust  being 
given.  All  club  property  of  a  personal  nature,  except  pro- 
visions and  food  stores,  was  to  be  held  in  this  manner  like- 
wise, the  trustees  to  convey  all  property  thus  held  to  any 
corporation  into  which  the  Club  later  might  be  organized. 

This  report  being  satisfactory.  Judge  Hilton  was  commis- 
sioned to  conclude  the  purchase  of  the  Benkard  house,  upon 
the  southeast  corner  of  Fifth  Avenue  and  Fifteenth  Street,  at 
a  price  not  exceeding  $110,000,  Mr.  Curtis  at  the  same  time 
being  empowered  to  draw  up  a  Declaration  of  Trust  along 
the  lines  of  the  report  of  his  committee. 

Judge  Hilton,  John  Van  Buren,  and  William  Butler  Dun- 
can were  named  as  the  three  trustees,  and  Augustus  Schell, 
treasurer  pro  tern.,  was  instructed  to  send  out  notice  to  such 
Democrats  as  had  accepted  membership,  announcing  the  tak- 
ing of  a  club-house  and  requesting  their  checks  for  $200  to 
cover  the  initiation  fee  of  $150  and  the  annual  dues  of  $50. 

The  first  member  to  subscribe  towards  the  purchase  of 

18 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

this  club-house  was  Mr.  August  Belmont,  who  offered  the 
sum  of  $10,000.  Almost  $55,000  was  at  once  pledged  as  a 
consequence  of  Mr.  Belmont's  confidence  in  the  future  of 
the  Club. 

At  the  same  time,  the  House  Committee  was  named  and 
asked  to  prepare  a  set  of  By-Laws  for  the  use  of  the  Club, 
which,  presented  and  amended,  on  January  5  were,  with  the 
House  Rules  and  Regulations,  adopted. 

The  Rules  of  Order,  adopted  on  December  11,  were  pre- 
sented by  Mr.  Manton  Marble,  acting  as  secretary  pro  tern. 
Later,  Mr.  Marble,  remembered  as  the  one-time  owner  and 
editor  of  the  New  York  "World,"  who  made  his  home  for 
many  years  at  the  old  University  Club,  became  president  of 
the  Manhattan  Club,  succeeding  Judge  Aaron  J.  Vanderpoel 
and  serving  from  1886  to  1888.  Previous  to  that  he  acted  as 
first  secretary  of  the  Club  (i 865-1 876).  Unfortunately,  he 
was  never  what  was  termed  "a  regular"  at  the  Club,  but  ap- 
peared only  when  some  special  occasion  required.  In  the 
old  days  at  "No.  96,"  as  the  new  club-house  came  to  be 
called,  Mr.  Marble,  with  William  Henry  Hurlbert,  also  of 
the  "World,"  William  C.  Prime,  Ben  Wood,  and  James 
Brooks,  represented  the  Press. 

It  was  a  current  joke  that  the  political  trio,  August  Bel- 
mont, S.  L.  M.  Barlow,  and  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  with  Manton 
Marble,  edited  the  "World." 

At  the  meeting  of  October  12  an  appropriation  had  been 
made  for  the  purchase  of  furnishings  and  other  necessities, 
and  so  well  did  Judge  Hilton  and  the  House  Committee  do 
their  work  that,  on  November  7,  the  Managing  Committee 
was  able  to  hold  its  meeting  in  the  dining-room  of  the  new 
club-house.  There  were  present  Messrs.  John  Van  Buren, 
William  Butler  Duncan,  Augustus  Schell,  Manton  Marble, 
Edward  L.  Corliss,  Andrew  H.  Green,  John  T.  Hoffman, 
George  W.  McLean,  William  F.  Allen,  Douglas  Taylor,  S. 
L.  M.  Barlow,  with  Mr.  Hiram  Cranston  by  invitation. 

X9 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

The  Benkard  house,  from  1865  to  1890  the  home  of  the 
Manhattan  Club,  is  remembered  by  old  New-Yorkers  as 
a  very  handsome  building  with  a  fifty-foot  frontage  on  Fifth 
Avenue  and  a  large  garden  to  the  rear  on  Fifteenth  Street. 
When  arranged  for  club  use,  the  first  floor  boasted  a  fine, 
spacious  reading-room  with  windows  commanding  both  the 
avenue  and  the  street,  a  smaller  apartment  serving  as  a  re- 
ception-room. In  later  years  an  innovation  was  made  by 
enlarging  the  balcony  to  the  rear  on  this  floor,  and  summer 
visitors  to  New  York  in  the  late  eighties  can  well  remember 
Club  members  enjoying  refreshments  at  the  twenty  or  more 
tables  of  this  delightful  open-air  dining-room. 

Mr.  Julius  J.  Lyons,  in  recalling  the  early  years  of  the 
Club,  tells  us  that  there  was  then  more  sociability  among  the 
members  than  there  is  to-day;  and  if  this  be  true,  as  it  must 
be  admitted  to  be,  it  implies  that  the  early  members  were 
mainly  personal  friends,  and  that  New  York  was  very  much 
smaller  then  than  now. 

The  officers,  once  the  Manhattan  had  its  home,  were  au- 
thorized to  procure  a  special  act  of  incorporation  for  the 
Club,  or  such  an  amendment  of  the  general  act  as  would 
permit  the  same  to  be  done.  This,  however,  was  not  brought 
about  until  February,  1877. 

The  Manhattan,  which  had  been  organized  in  support  of 
the  new  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Nation,  on  March  12,  1866, 
elected  Andrew  Johnson  an  honorary  member,  and  ap- 
pointed a  committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  John  Van  Buren, 
August  Belmont,  and  Augustus  Schell,  to  engage  an  artist 
to  paint  the  President's  portrait,  it  being  the  "earnest  desire 
of  the  Club  to  adorn  their  walls  with  the  representation  of 
the  form  and  lineaments  of  a  statesman  and  patriot  whose 
efforts  to  restore  the  peace  and  union  of  our  distracted  coun- 
try and  whose  just  and  fearless  rebukes  of  disunionists 
command  and  secure  their  unanimous,  cordial,  and  enthu- 
siastic approbation." 

20 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

The  President  replied  in  the  following: 

Executive  Mansion, 
Washington,  D.  C, 
March  22, 1866. 
Gentlemen: 

I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter 
of  the  1 2th  instant,  informing  me  of  my  election  as  an  Hon- 
orary Member  of  the  Manhattan  Club  of  New  York  City, 
and  asking  me  to  allow  an  artist  of  your  selection  to  take  a 
full-length  portrait  of  myself  for  your  Club. 

In  communicating  to  you  my  acceptance  of  these  compli- 
ments, I  desire  to  thank  you  sincerely  for  them  and  for  the 
friendly  expressions  of  support  and  encouragement  you  ten- 
der me  in  the  discharge  of  my  public  duties.  An  honest  and 
clear  conviction  of  duty,  and  consciousness  of  rectitude  of 
purpose,  the  unwavering  support  of  the  American  people 
and  the  blessing  of  an  all-wise  Providence,  will,  I  believe, 
enable  me  to  meet  any  emergency.  I  feel  that  I  have  the 
first  two ;  and  it  shall  be  the  object  of  my  every  endeavor  to 
deserve  the  remaining  requisites. 

I  am,  gentlemen,  with  great  respect. 

Your  obedient  servant, 
Andrew  Johnson. 
Jno.  Van  Buren,  Esq.,  ] 

Jno.  T.  Hoffman,  Esq.,  l^^^^''^^  Committee, 
.    ,  Manhattan  Club, 

et  al.y 

In  May  the  Club  voted  $25,000  for  the  improvement  of  its 
club-house,  and  at  the  same  meeting  decided  that  no  report- 
ers were  to  be  admitted  to  private  dinners  in  any  of  its  din- 
ing-rooms. 

Before  the  Club  was  a  year  old  it  suffered  the  loss  of  its 
first  president,  John  Van  Buren,  whose  death  occurred  at 
sea,  on  the  steamer  "Scotia,"  on  his  return  trip  from  a  short 
tour  in  Europe. 

ax 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

Samuel  J.  Tilden,  whose  name  first  appears  in  Club  annals 
as  one  of  the  Managing  Committee  at  its  meeting  of  Decem- 
ber 5,  1865,  August  Belmont,  and  Manton  Marble  composed 
a  committee  which  drew  up  resolutions  on  the  death  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren,  Mr.  William  Butler  Duncan  being  commissioned 
to  order  a  kit-kat  portrait  of  the  late  Club  president  to  be 
done  by  the  artist  Lazarus  for  the  Club  walls.  The  club- 
house was  draped,  for  the  first  time,  in  crape  until  after  the 
funeral  of  its  president,  the  entire  Club  attending  his  funeral 
at  Grace  Church  in  a  body. 

A  lawyer  by  profession,  eminent  both  as  advocate  and 
counsellor,  John  Van  Buren  was  a  born  clubman.  He  was 
idolized  by  the  Democrats  who  founded  the  Manhattan. 
Known  as  "Prince  John,"  he  charmed  by  his  kindly  and  cor- 
dial temper,  his  gracious  manners  and  his  social  ways,  not 
less  than  by  his  scintillant  intellect,  his  wide  experience  and 
his  unfailing  humor.  He  was  a  popular  orator  of  the  first 
order,  unrivalled  in  drawing  vast  audiences  and  holding 
them  by  the  logic  of  his  argument  and  the  magnetism  of  his 
personality. 

Born  of  statesmanship  environment,  from  his  earliest 
years  the  affairs  of  government  interested  him  above  all 
things  else,  his  elevation  of  character  keeping  him  aloof 
from  self-interest  in  his  political  activities.  He  held  it  un- 
professional to  accept  employment  in  any  way  connected 
with  party  influence  or  relation.  What  he  gave  of  his  time 
and  talents  to  politics  was  a  free-will  offering.  It  was  mat- 
ter of  comment  that  John  Van  Buren  might  have  made  a 
fortune  many  times  over,  had  his  abilities  been  turned  to  his 
own  account,  rather  than  to  the  service  of  his  country.  Liv- 
ing, as  he  did,  during  the  most  trying  years  of  American 
history,  he  never  lost  belief  in  the  people,  never  despaired  of 
the  Republic,  and,  while  ready  to  preserve  the  Union  by  con- 
ciliation, was  resolved  to  maintain  it  by  force,  if  need  be, 
through  all  the  trying  period  of  the  war  holding  fast  to  his 

22 


.JHi 


dial  ■ 


John  Van  Buren 


tinan  tot 

[  the  mu;>t  ti. 


2S 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

belief  in  the  greatness  and  glory  of  a  constitutional  govern- 
ment as  conceived  and  founded  by  the  fathers. 

"Prince  John"  had  for  bosom  friend  the  brilliant  and  pro- 
found James  T.  Brady,  dubbed  "King  James."  The  two 
were  voted  the  "Damon  and  Pythias"  of  the  Manhattan, 
"Prince  John"  being  also  known  as  the  "Wamba"  of  Demo- 
cratic politics. 

He  was  "a  splendid  fellow  in  every  way,"  Mr.  Douglas 
Taylor  stated  in  the  interview  he  gave  the  New  York  "Sun" 
on  the  occasion  of  his  eightieth  birthday.  "He  died  sud- 
denly on  his  way  home  from  England.  I  remember  his  giv- 
ing me  a  little  carte  de  visite  of  himself  standing  up ;  the 
portrait  taken  from  it  is  in  the  Manhattan  Club.  He  lived  in 
Fourth  Avenue  part  of  the  time,  somewhere  near  Twentieth 
Street.  He  had  a  daughter  living  in  England,  but  few  knew 
anything  of  his  more  private  and  domestic  life." 

On  November  2,  1866,  Mr.  Augustus  Schell,  the  Club's 
vice-president,  was  elected  to  fill  Mr.  Van  Buren's  place,  Mr. 
Anthony  L.  Robertson  succeeding  Mr.  Schell,  Mr.  Sidney 
Webster  taking  Mr.  Van  Buren's  place  among  the  managers, 
other  officers  remaining  the  same.  As  Mr.  Dean  Richmond 
had  also  been  removed  by  death  from  the  Managing  Com- 
mittee, Horatio  Seymour  was  appointed  in  his  place. 

Like  John  Van  Buren,  Dean  Richmond  was  a  pride  of  the 
Democracy,  which  had  made  him  an  active  governor  of  its 
Club.  He  was  a  leader,  known  alike  "for  his  clear  and  mas- 
sive intellect  and  for  his  sound  and  noble  heart."  In  the 
social  intercourse  of  the  Club,  the  members  counted  him  a 
just,  kindly,  and  genial  comrade.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
grasp  of  public  affairs,  of  insight,  generosity,  and  resolute 
will,  a  loss  in  every  way  to  the  Club,  which  recognized  him 
not  only  as  one  of  its  founders,  but  as  a  wise  and  needful 
guide  to  its  steps  in  this  first  year  of  its  life. 


CHAPTER  THE  THIRD 


'No.  96" — Customs  and  Laws— Douglas  Taylor— The  Famous  Trio 
— "Cadaverous  Ben" — Well-known  Members — The  Bateman-Cran- 
ston  Incident. 

T  was  not  long  before  "No.  96"  wore  the 
look  of  the  well-established  club-house. 
The  attendants,  forty  in  number,  with  the 
exception  of  the  superintendent,  appeared 
in  a  livery  consisting  of  a  blue  dress-suit 
with  gilded  buttons.  The  Club  quickly 
acquired  a  good  library,  the  nucleus  of 
which  seems  to  have  been  a  large  donation  of  books  for 
which  the  Hon.  Nelson  Taylor  was  thanked,  February  2, 
1866.  It  also  kept  its  reading-room  well  supplied  with  cur- 
rent literature,  and  quickly  hung  its  walls  with  portraits  of 
prominent  members  and  the  fine  engravings  then  so  much 
the  expression  of  American  art. 

By  1873,  the  membership  reached  six  hundred,  the  annual 
dues  amounting  to  $30,000. 

The  rules  from  the  beginning  were  very  strict.  Lights 
were  not  permitted  in  the  card-room  after  2.30  a.m.  Mem- 
bers could  not  be  admitted  between  2  a.m.  and  7  a.m.,  and  the 
steward  was  not  required  to  fill  orders  after  i  a.m.  Whist, 
according  to  Baldwin,  with  a  $5  stake,  was  the  only  game 

24 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

permitted.  Smoking  in  the  restaurant  was  forbidden,  and 
no  members  could  sleep  on  lounges  or  sofas  except  on  the 
third  floor.  Members  who  broke  china  or  damaged  furniture 
had  to  settle  for  it  before  leaving  the  house.  Drink  could  not 
be  served  in  the  reception-room. 

The  Club,  too,  was  strict  about  guests,  members  being 
permitted  to  introduce  persons,  not  members,  residing 
within  thirty  miles  of  the  City  Hall,  only  to  the  dining-room. 
Members  were  forbidden  to  fee  servants,  nor  could  they  or- 
der private  dinners  of  more  than  four  covers. 

The  restaurant  of  the  "No.  96"  days  was  the  most  cele- 
brated in  New  York,  and  the  saying  went  that  because  of  its 
fame,  outrivalling  even  Delmonico's,  no  other  club-house  in 
New  York  City  was  so  closely  frequented  by  its  members. 
Its  system  of  payment,  however,  while  very  agreeable,  led, 
as  we  shall  discover  later,  to  embarrassing  consequences. 

No  accounts  were  kept,  every  member  being  expected  to 
settle  his  accounts  before  he  left.  As  we  are  told,  this  rule 
was  not  always  enforced.  There  was  another  which  ordered 
every  m.ember  in  arrears  for  a  week  to  be  bulletined.  If 
posted  thirty  days,  he  would  become  liable  to  expulsion. 

The  regular  meeting  of  the  Club,  also  an  annual  reunion, 
took  place  on  the  first  Thursday  in  October.  The  Board  of 
Managers,  on  the  other  hand,  met  every  month.  In  these 
comfortable  surroundings  the  Club  grew  and  flourished,  and 
before  long  counted  on  its  roster  the  leading  Democrats  of 
New  York  City.  One  always  seen  at  "No.  96"  was  Douglas 
Taylor,  its  founder.  No  man  in  his  day  was  more  widely 
known  or  better  liked  than  the  Commissioner  of  Jurors. 
Son  of  an  Episcopal  clergyman,  Mr.  Taylor  turned  his 
back  upon  Columbia,  gave  up  his  opening  with  Lawrence 
the  banker,  and,  like  Benjamin  Franklin,  took  to  type  and 
ink.  Like  him,  also,  he  married  his  first  employer's  daugh- 
ter at  the  early  age  of  nineteen.  Printing  was  a  passion  with 
him,  eind  his  establishment  became  justly  renowned.     He 

25 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

was  owner  of  the  New  York  "Sentinel,"  and  one  of  the  most 
popular  men  of  his  day.  It  was  Douglas  Taylor  who,  after 
the  fall  of  Tweed,  when  there  were  no  more  bouquets  nor 
huzzaing  crowds  for  the  once  courted  boss,  with  his  wife 
sought  him  out  as  he  sat  deserted  in  his  sleeper,  and  spoke  to 
him,  quite  as  of  old.  It  was  he  who  received  the  newspaper 
reporters  at  the  Club,  and  who  had  a  kind  word  for  every- 
body. He  had  been  a  sachem  of  Tammany  Hall  in  its  ante- 
bellum days,  also  its  secretary,  and  for  many  years  was 
Commissioner  of  Jurors.  He  was  instrumental  in  bringing 
S.  S.  Cox  to  New  York  and  electing  him  to  Congress  just 
after  the  war.  Mr.  Taylor  lived  to  the  age  of  eighty-two, 
dying  only  two  years  before  the  semi-centenary  of  the  Club. 

In  these  days  Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  called  the  "Com- 
modore," was  an  every-day  habitue  of  the  Club,  an  inveter- 
ate whist-player,  and  a  man  of  most  striking  appearance. 

The  Law,  at  "No.  96,"  was  then  represented  by  Judges 
Ingraham,  Hilton,  Barnard,  Russell,  Clerke,  Daly,  Curtis, 
Comstock,  Garvin  the  "learned  and  eloquent,"  O'Gorman 
"the  brilliant  and  impulsive,"  and  "keen  and  thoughtful" 
John  E.  Burrill;  the  actors,  by  Lester  Wallack,  Joseph  Jef- 
ferson, and  Dion  Boucicault. 

General  Slocum  represented  the  military;  August  Bel- 
mont, very  English  in  appearance,  wearing  London  tweeds, 
English  whiskers,  one  button  of  his  coat  fastened  over  his 
shirt  front,  S.  L.  M.  Barlow,  and  Samuel  J.  Tilden  were  a 
notable  trio;  and  James  T.  Brady — "King  James" — brilliant, 
yet  profound  and  learned,  was  noted  in  the  courts  for  his 
famous  pleas,  and  at  the  Manhattan  for  his  inimitable  jokes. 

Another  notable  member  of  the  "No.  96"  days  was  Oswald 
Ottendorf er,  the  German  editor ;  still  another  was  Benjamin 
Wood,  familiarly  known  as  "Cadaverous  Ben,"  from  his  pal- 
lid, almost  ghastly  coloring  and  lean  figure.  Imperturbable 
in  manner,  his  curiously  alert  face,  combined  with  its  pallor, 
made  him,  once  seen,  always  remembered. 

26 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

In  the  course  of  time  a  few  Tammany  men  became  mem- 
bers, Peter  B.  Sweeny  (called  by  his  enemies  "the  spider  of 
Tammany  politics"),  A.  Oakey  Hall,  and  John  T.  Hoffman 
representing  the  organization.  Oakey  Hall  was  noted  for  a 
certain  elegance  of  dress  as  well  as  for  literary  attainments. 

A  celebrated  member  was  George  Ticknor  Curtis,  the 
biographer  of  Webster.  Quite  clerical  in  appearance,  aus- 
tere and  dark,  he  was  yet  thought  to  resemble  August  Bel- 
mont. He  was  highly  cultivated  and  ready  as  a  speaker. 
Horatio  Seymour,  Andrew  H.  Green  (remarked  for  his  Lord 
Brougham  nose),  John  T.  Agnew,  General  McClellan, 
"Uncle  Sam"  Ward,  and  "Winter  Garden"  Stuart  were 
other  early  members.  At  the  club-house,  also,  were  to  be 
seen  General  Hancock,  Hon.  George  H.  Pendleton,  Gulian 
C.  Verplanck,  ex-President  Franklin  Pierce,  and  ex-Presi- 
dent James  Buchanan.  The  only  member  reputed  a  Repub- 
lican was  Thurlow  Weed. 

"No.  96,"  gossip  said,  saw  many  of  the  leading  events  of 
that  day  concocted  in  its  club-rooms.  It  was  declared  that 
Seymour  and  Blair  were  nominated  there  in  conclave,  and 
that  there  Vanderbilt  and  Belmont  talked  of  more  than 
whist.  It  was  from  the  Manhattan  that  the  "Commodore" 
despatched  the  message  to  the  judge  who  had  sent  for  him, 
that  he  could  not  come  because  "he  was  too  far  behind  the 
game." 

It  was  at  "No.  96"  likewise  that  the  sensational  Bateman- 
Cranston  incident  occurred.  H.  L.  Bateman,  the  father  of 
the  famous  actress,  Kate  Bateman,  and  both  her  manager 
and  that  of  Parepa  Rosa,  disregarding  club  rules,  introduced 
a  friend.  Hiram  Cranston,  proprietor  of  the  New  York 
Hotel,  at  that  time  on  the  House  Committee,  forbade  an  at- 
tendant serving  Mr.  Bateman  eind  his  guest,  with  the  result 
that  the  manager  made  a  personal  attack  on  him,  and  then 
offered  his  resignation.  The  governors  of  the  Club,  how- 
ever, refused  to  accept  it,  and  expelled  him. 


CHAPTER  THE  FOURTH 


The  Old  Benkard  House— Recollections  of  Mr.  Lyons— "Uncle  Dave" 
Gilbert  and  General  Martin  T.  McMahon— Wilder  Allen,  the 
Practical  Joker. 

T  was  in  1869  that  Mr.  Julius  J.  Lyons  joined 
the  Manhattan  Club.  One  of  the  first  things 
he  was  told  was  that  he  should  have  joined 
a  few  months  earlier,  for  then  he  would 
have  had  the  pleasure  of  enjoying  the 
nightly  sessions  of  a  very  entertaining 
group  of  prominent  men  of  the  day, — Frank 
Work,  Horace  F.  Clark,  Richard  Schell,  Ben  Wood,  Hiram 
Cranston,  William  Turnbull, — who,  on  winter  evenings, 
were  in  the  habit  of  gathering  about  the  blazing  logs  in  the 
great  open  fireplace  of  the  front  parlor  of  the  Benkard  house, 
old  Commodore  Vanderbilt  himself  leading  the  conversa- 
tion. 

As  it  was,  Mr.  Lyons  found  in  the  Club  much  lively  com- 
pany and  many  striking  characters,  men  of  the  sixties, 
among  them  Judge  Henry  Wilder  Allen,  then  secretary  of 
the  Club  and  a  great  practical  joker,  Mr.  Lyons  being  his 
victim  on  the  occasion  of  the  comparison  between  the  Club's 
and  Delmonico's  ice-cream. 

Another  early  member  was  Simon  Sterne,  political  econ- 

28 


The  Old  B«nkara  House- 


Augustus  Schell 


I    ir>|r^f_    T\. 


-.im^  it-vvji- 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

omist  and  able  lawyer.  Mr.  Sterne,  also,  was  fond  of  his 
joke.  One  day  Mr.  Lyons,  whose  tastes  ran  towards  the  in- 
tellectual and  whose  Club  haunt  was  the  library,  was  stopped 
by  Mr.  Sterne  with : 

"Well,  Lyons,  you  come  down  town  very  late.  I  saw 
you,  yesterday,  going  into  your  office  after  twelve." 

"Yes,"  answered  Mr.  Lyons,  "I  was  coming  from  my 
French  lesson." 

"But  to-day,"  retorted  Mr.  Sterne,  "you  are  also  very  late 
for  a  business  man !" 

"Yes,"  agreed  Lyons,  "but  I  am  coming  from  my  German 
lesson." 

Sterne  gave  him  a  withering  glance. 

"Look  here,"  he  said,  "does  it  take  three  languages,  Lyons, 
to  show  what  a fool  you  are?" 

That  Mr.  Lyons  had  his  own  retort  ready  when  he  needed 
it  is  shown  by  the  answer  he  gave  "Sunset"  Cox  on  the  occa- 
sion of  his  presentation  to  Mr.  Lyons  in  the  large  room  of 
the  old  Benkard  house. 

Cox,  then  in  the  public  eye  as  member  of  Congress,  and 
prominent  in  national  politics,  to  be  facetious,  rallied  Mr. 
Lyons  upon  the  lack  of  resemblance  between  the  ferocious 
animal  suggested  by  his  name  and  his  peaceful  personality. 

Quick  as  a  flash,  Mr.  Lyons,  suiting  action  to  his  word, 
retorted : 

"Let  others  hail  the  rising  *Sun,* 
I  bow  to  him  whose  race  is  run." 

And  the  laugh  turned  on  "Sunset." 

In  those  early  days  most  visitors  to  the  old  Benkard 
house  were  subjected  to  an  ordeal  in  passing  the  desk  of  a 
certain  Mr.  Quinn,  long  in  the  employ  of  the  Club,  and,  for 
many  years  before  his  death,  on  its  pension  list. 

Mr.  Quinn  believed  firmly  in  the  verdict  of  his  day  that 
membership  in  the  Manhattan  Club  was  a  badge  of  aris- 

29 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

tocracy.  To  maintain  its  standard  of  exclusiveness,  he  as- 
sumed a  belligerent  air  to  all  intruders,  and  for  a  visitor  to 
pass  his  desk  was  an  open  credential  of  that  visitor's  im- 
portance. So  well  did  he  guard  its  sacred  precincts  that  on 
January  lo,  1889,  when  a  small  fire  broke  out  in  one  of  the 
rooms,  he,  with  outraged  dignity,  opposed  the  entrance  of 
the  firemen,  and  suffered  in  consequence  some  very  rough 
handling.  It  was  his  pride  that,  while  the  Club  was  Demo- 
cratic in  politics,  it  was  aristocratic  in  its  clientele,  and  espe- 
cially so  in  its  table  and  wine-cellar.  It  was  to  his  great 
satisfaction,  too,  that  the  chefs  of  the  Manhattan  were  of 
equal  standing  with  the  Delmonico  chefs  across  the  Avenue. 

A  memorable  personality  of  the  Manhattan  Club  was 
General  Martin  T.  McMahon. 

General  McMahon  had  a  gallant  war  record,  having  from 
San  Francisco,  where  he  was  then  living,  started  for  the 
front  on  the  outbreak  of  hostilities.  He  gained  his  soldierly 
fame,  however,  in  the  armies  of  the  East.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Manhattan  almost  from  its  birth,  joining  in  June, 
1866,  a  little  over  six  months  after  its  organization. 

Sixteen  years  later  the  General  formed  a  close  and  lasting 
friendship  with  a  new  member,  perhaps  the  most  striking 
personality  ever  on  the  Manhattan  Club's  roster.  This  was 
David  B.  Gilbert,  familiarly  known  as  "Uncle  Dave,"  and 
aptly  named  its  "Watch-dog."  For  twenty  years  "Uncle 
Dave"  made  the  Manhattan  Club  his  home,  and  for  seven- 
teen of  these  he  acted  as  secretary  of  the  Club  and  served  on 
its  Board  of  Managers.  It  would  be  difficult  to  parallel  the 
intense  love  and  devotion — almost  religious  in  its  fervor, 
says  Mr.  Lyons — which  he  displayed,  every  moment  of  his 
life,  towards  the  advancement  of  the  best  interests  of  the 
Club. 

Before  he  retired  from  business,  selling  out  his  seat  on  the 
New  York  Stock  Exchange  after  amassing  a  competency,  he 
was  always  to  be  found  in  the  afternoon  at  the  Club,  a  fact 

30 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

which  drew  thither  a  number  of  men  who  came  solely  for  his 
company,  he  being  very  popular  and  one  of  those  who  attract 
and  keep  about  them  their  own  little  circle  of  intimates. 
After  he  retired  he  seldom  left  the  club-house,  and,  to  see  that 
proper  order  was  maintained  in  all  directions  about  it,  he  had 
himself  made  a  deputy  sheriff  and  proudly  wore  his  badge  of 
office.  From  that  moment  he  became  the  terror  of  every 
organ-grinder  and  fruit-cart  vender  who  ventured  into  the 
neighborhood. 

By  blowing  his  whistle,  which  he  relentlessly  did,  those 
gentry  would  disperse  to  the  four  winds  as  quickly  as  leaves 
before  a  wind-storm.  If  one  took  his  chance  and  returned, 
but  at  a  safe  distance,  there  was  "Uncle  Dave"  on  the  watch 
for  him. 

"Uncle  Dave"  and  General  McMahon  became  inseparable, 
and  only  the  death  of  the  latter  broke  their  manly  and 
notable  friendship.  They  always  dined  together,  and  were 
never  apart,  eating  their  meals  in  the  dining-room  of  the 
suite  occupied  by  Mr.  Gilbert,  and  spending  the  rest  of  the 
evenings  refighting  the  war  and  re-electing  all  the  ante-bel- 
lum Presidents. 

The  two  had  a  common  peculiarity :  neither  ever  went  into 
the  Club  dining-room.  After  the  General's  death,  "Uncle 
Dave,"  being  very  lonesome,  would  wander  in,  grow  uneasy 
and  wander  out.  For  a  time  in  their  friendship  the  two  had 
a  common  friend  in  General  Alfred  L.  Tyler,  who  shared 
their  society.  General  Tyler,  a  man  of  strong  characteristics 
and  indomitable  will,  was  the  founder  of  Anniston,  Alabama, 
which  town,  by  his  influence,  wealth,  and  enterprise,  as  well 
as  innate  perseverance  and  ability,  he  carried  through  to  suc- 
cess in  the  face  of  incalculable  hardships  and  obstacles. 

Still  another  early  member,  elected  February  5,  1869,  as 
vice-president  of  the  Club,  was  Samuel  L.  M.  Barlow,  re- 
called for  the  members  of  to-day  by  Mr.  Solomon  Hanford. 
Here  is  Mr.  Hanf ord's  "memorandum" : 

31 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

"He  was  for  many  years  a  prominent  figure  among  the 
early  members  of  the  Club,  besides  being  in  the  foremost 
rank  in  the  legal  profession  in  a  career  which  commenced  in 
1847,  when  he  reached  his  majority,  down  to  1889,  when  he 
died  at  the  age  of  sixty-three.  He  was  a  *bon-viveur'  in  the 
best  sense  of  the  term;  belonged  to  and  was  a  conspicuous 
member  of  a  coterie  composed,  among  other  prominent  men, 
of  August  Belmont,  William  R.  Travers,  Manton  Marble, 
William  Butler  Duncan,  Abram  S.  Hewitt,  and  Edward 
Cooper,  and  was  always  high  in  the  councils  of  the  Demo- 
cratic Party.  From  an  early  age  he  took  an  active  interest 
in  public  affairs  and  carried  on  an  extended  correspondence 
with  men  in  public  life,  notably  with  Daniel  Webster,  James 
Buchanan,  and  other  men  nationally  prominent.  He  had 
barely  reached  his  majority  before  he  was  appointed  by 
Webster  special  envoy  of  the  United  States  to  Mexico.  As 
executor  of  the  will  of  Charles  P.  Chouteau  of  St.  Louis  he 
owned  Dred  Scott  at  the  time  of  the  famous  decision  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court  on  the  subject  of  slavery. 
While  James  Buchanan  was  minister  to  England,  Mr.  Bar- 
low, who  was  one  of  his  closest  friends,  interested  himself  in 
Mr.  Buchanan's  candidacy  for  the  Presidency,  and  actively 
promoted  his  election.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  he 
was  on  terms  of  close  friendship  with  Judah  P.  Benjamin  and 
most  of  the  other  leading  men  of  the  Southern  Confederacy, 
and  this  friendship  was  maintained  to  the  end.  He  actively 
and  efficiently  exerted  himself  in  connection  with  the  release 
of  the  Confederate  commissioners.  Mason  and  Slidell,  and  in 
the  case  of  the  'Savannah'  privateer  gave  his  counsel  and 
assistance  in  defense  of  the  prisoners.  He  took  a  prominent 
part  in  the  nomination  and  election  of  Samuel  J.  Tilden. 

"Mr.  Barlow  was  a  remarkable  man  in  many  ways.  Joined 
to  a  sterling  character,  his  personality  was  such  as  to  attract 
every  one  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  and  he  was  open- 
handed  in  the  relief  of  every  deserving  case  which  came 

32 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

under  his  notice.  He  had  an  intuitive  knowledge  of  law  and 
unerring  judgment,  and  he  possessed  the  marvellous  faculty 
of  straightening  out  legal  complications  in  which  others  had 
failed,  and  of  drawing  complicated  legal  instruments,  writ- 
ing them  out  in  his  own  hand  in  such  form  as  to  enable  his 
first  draft  to  be  immediately  executed  without  requiring  an 
important  correction,  a  faculty  which  was  declared  by  many 
of  his  contemporaries  to  be  possessed  by  probably  no  other 
lawyer  at  this  Bar.  For  over  twenty  years  before  his  death 
Mr.  Barlow  resided  on  the  corner  of  Madison  Avenue  and 
Twenty-third  Street,  the  house  which  he  owned,  and  where 
he  entertained  royally  many  of  the  most  prominent  men  in 
the  country,  occupying  part  of  the  site  now  occupied  by  the 
Metropolitan  Life  Building.  His  son,  Peter  Townsend  Bar- 
low, is  serving  his  second  term  as  one  of  the  magistrates  of 
the  City  of  New  York,  his  appointment  to  a  second  term  by 
Mayor  Gaynor  being  one  of  the  last  acts  of  that  official." 

Another  early  member,  one  destined  to  play  a  prominent 
part  on  the  stage  of  Democracy,  was  Samuel  J.  Tilden.  In 
the  first  year  of  the  Club,  Mr.  Tilden  was  one  of  the  Man- 
aging Committee,  his  colleagues  being : 

Wm.  F.  Allen  John  T.  Hoffman 

S.  L.  M.  Barlow  Manton  Marble 

August  Belmont  Charles  O'Conor 

James  T.  Brady  Edwards  Pierrepont 

Horace  F.  Clark  Wm.  C.  Prime 

Edward  Cooper  Dean  Richmond 

Hiram  Cranston  Anthony  L.  Robertson 

Geo.  Ticknor  Curtis  Augustus  Schell 

Wm.  Butler  Duncan  Douglas  Taylor 

Andrew  H.  Green  John  Van  Buren 

Henry  Hilton  Gulian  C.  Verplanck 

Still  another  well-known  member  of  the  Club,  in  its  first 

33 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

year,  was  Judge  Henry  Hilton,  who,  with  George  W.  Mc- 
Lean and  Hiram  Cranston,  formed  the  first  House  Commit- 
tee, whose  duty,  according  to  the  first  Constitution,  was  to 
make  all  necessary  purchases  for  the  Club,  fix  the  prices  of 
articles  sold  in  the  Club,  and,  in  general,  transact  its  current 
business  and  regulate  its  internal  economy.  A  prominent 
out-of-town  member  of  this  period  was  Smith  M.  Weed,  of 
Plattsburg.  He  long  stood  at  the  head  of  up-State  Demo- 
cratic politics,  narrowly  missing  the  United  States  senator- 
ship  on  three  occasions,  and  always  exercising  commanding 
influence.  He  is  still  hale  and  hearty  at  the  ripe  old  age  of 
eighty-three. 

Such  was  the  atmosphere  of  the  Manhattan  Club  in  its  old 
Benkard  house  days,  and  such  the  stalwart  and  striking  fig- 
ures of  early  post-bellum  Democracy.  What  these  men  did 
for  the  Club  we  shall  hear  in  the  coming  chapters. 


CHAPTER  THE  FIFTH 


1865-1877 

The  Old  Club— Public  Dinners  and  Receptions— Out-of-town  Mem- 
bers provided  for— Mortality  among  the  Club  Officials— The  Club 
denounces  the  Use  of  Troops  in  Louisiana. 

HE  official  history  of  the  Manhattan  Club 
divides  itself  naturally  into  two  sections, 
the  first  section  covering  the  period  of  the 
Club's  life  between  the  years  1865  and  1877, 
before  it  became  a  corporation;  the  second 
section  embracing  the  years  from  1877  to 
191 5,  the  semi-centennial  year  of  the  Club's 
existence;  both  of  these  sections  were  filled  with  striking 
personalities  and  events. 

By  the  Act  of  Incorporation,  sworn  to  before  B.  J.  Douras, 
N.P.,  on  February  15,  1877,  and  signed  by  John  Bigelow, 
Secretary  of  State,  at  Albany,  February  20,  1877,  the  Man- 
hattan Club,  as  it  existed,  and  the  incorporated  Manhattan 
Club,  became  separate  bodies,  distinguished  in  all  records 
thereafter  as  the  "Old  Club"  and  the  "New  Club." 

During  the  whole  of  its  life  the  "Old  Club"  made  its  home 
in  the  Benkard  house. 

The  early  months  of  the  Old  Club's  life  following  those 

35 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

already  recorded  were  without  incident  other  than  the  loss 
sustained  by  the  death  of  ex-Governor  Washington  Hunt, 
one  of  its  most  valued  members,  in  1867. 

Governor  Hunt  is  described  in  the  Club  annals  as  "a  Chris- 
tian gentleman."  He  was  a  man  whose  distinguished  and 
successful  career  in  State  and  National  legislatures  and  as 
Governor  of  New  York  had  established  the  character  of 
ability,  stability,  and  shining  integrity.  His  death  at  that 
trying  period  of  American  history  came  as  a  national  as  well 
as  a  State  and  Club  loss,  for  as  a  statesman  no  less  than  a 
clubman  he  had  hosts  of  friends,  won  and  held  by  hig  genial 
temper  and  unaffected  ways. 

The  matters  which  now  began  to  engage  the  attention  and 
interest  of  the  Old  Club  were,  first,  its  hope  of  becoming  an 
efficient  aid  to  the  Democratic  Party;  second,  its  desire  to 
see  itself  incorporated;  third,  its  troubled  financial  affairs; 
and  fourth,  the  growing  restlessness  of  its  younger  members 
as  to  its  removal  to  an  up-town  club-house. 

The  first  of  these  aims  led  to  the  appointment,  March  i, 
1868,  by  the  President,  of  a  committee  of  three,  with  him- 
self as  chairman,  having  power  to  extend  the  hospitalities  of 
the  Club  to  the  National  Democratic  Committee,  members 
of  the  National  Democratic  Convention,  about  to  assemble, 
and  to  other  distinguished  Democrats  who  might  be  present 
in  New  York  City  on  the  4th  of  July  of  that  year. 

On  November  23,  1870,  this  work  was  continued  by  a  for- 
mal request  made  to  Mr.  George  Ticknor  Curtis  that  he 
mature  and  submit  a  plan  he  had  suggested  for  increasing 
the  political  efficiency  of  the  Club.  This  plan,  which  em- 
braced, among  other  functions,  public  dinners  and  recep- 
tions to  leading  Democrats,  began  to  bear  fruit.  On  the  7th 
of  November,  1873,  we  find  the  Club  holding  a  general  meet- 
ing to  arrange  for  an  entertainment,  to  be  given  a  week  later, 
in  honor  of  Governor  Kemper  of  Virginia  and  of  Governor 
Allen  and  Senator  Thurman  of  Ohio;  and  on  May  7,  1874, 

36 


pc-'fitxeai  efficiency  of 


s- 
d 


leriiprr  ana  . 

August  Belmont 

W  \d,  Its 


md  the  Chib  ' 


mxm^i;:^  ii.u:iiiaii  ■  .  ana  on  ma; 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

Democrats  from  all  over  the  country  were  invited  to  a  grand 
reunion. 

This  reunion,  we  learn  from  the  newspapers  of  those 
days,  was  the  most  famous  yet  given  by  the  Manhattan 
Club.  In  one  account  we  read  how,  though  "eminently 
Democratic"  as  the  Club  was,  the  throng  on  that  notable 
evening  was  by  no  means  democratic  in  appearance,  if  that 
meant  "the  great  unwashed,"  but  was  composed  of  "gentle- 
men in  full  evening  costume,  including  the  par  excellence 
swallowtail  coat,  white  choker,  and  light  kid  gloves." 

The  imposing  rooms  were,  it  is  recorded,  most  splendidly 
decorated,  the  national  colors  festooning  the  columns  of  the 
reception-rooms,  draping  the  walls  and  outlining  the  doors, 
gorgeous  candelabra  flashing  down  their  lustre  from  every 
ceiling. 

One  reporter  waxed  critical  concerning  the  curtains, 
which,  he  informs  us,  were  of  gauze  spangled  in  every  hue,— 
a  trifle  theatrical,  he  thought,  and  "in  the  'Black  Crook* 
style,"  then  the  vogue.  While  he  was  not  fond  of  so  much 
red  in  the  club-house  furnishings,  he  reluctantly  admitted 
that  it  had  a  most  brilliant  effect. 

Leading  Democrats  from  all  over  the  Union  are  described 
as  strolling  up  the  winding  stairway,  arm  in  arm,  in  those 
same  swallowtails,  chokers,  and  light  kids,  pausing  to  in- 
spect the  portraits  of  John  Van  Buren  and  Chancellor  Rob- 
erts,— evidently  hung  upon  the  wall  of  the  stairway, — 
making  their  way  by  the  band  playing  democratic  airs  in  the 
upper  hall  to  the  adjacent  parlor,  where,  at  nine,  began  the 
speeches. 

Mr.  Augustus  Schell,  then  President  of  the  Club,  took  his 
place  as  master  of  ceremonies  on  a  carpeted  dais  at  the  end 
of  the  room,  near  a  table  decorated  with  one  of  the  huge,  stiff 
bouquets  of  that  period,  to  welcome  the  visitors.  Reading 
the  report  of  his  speech  to-day,  it  is  easy  to  supply  the  date 
of  the  fulfilment  of  his  prophecy  that  events  were  moving 

37 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

rapidly  and  logically  towards  the  rise  of  Democracy  again 
to  power. 

Speeches  through  which  sound  the  echoes  of  the  guns  of 
the  Civil  War,  replete  with  political  references  which  fall 
dead  to-day,  then  followed, — Amasa  J.  Parker,  Senator 
Bayard,  Judge  John  McHenry,  Mr.  Fitch  of  Nevada,  Mr. 
Smith  of  Vermont,  the  orators, — and  two  hundred  letters, 
full  of  the  rising  leaven  of  Democracy,  were  read  from  lead- 
ing Democrats  of  every  State,  unable  for  various  reasons  to 
be  present.  References  to  affairs  in  Louisiana  made  the  roof 
of  "No.  96"  echo  with  Democratic  cheering. 

After  the  supper — pronounced  "very  fine" — certain  gen- 
tlemen, catching  sight  of  S.  S.  ("Sunset")  Cox,  fell  upon  him 
with  cries  of  "Speech!  Speech!"  but  to  no  avail. 

Chief  in  that  throng  of  Democrats  of  '74  moved  Samuel  J. 
Tilden,  the  man  in  whom  many  New  York  Democrats  saw 
the  coming  triumph  of  Democracy.  Near  by  was  the  de- 
lightful John  Hunter,  and  not  far  away  the  equally  charming 
William  C.  Wickham;  while  mingling  in  the  throng  were 
General  Elijah  Ward,  Congressman  Robert  B.  Roosevelt, 
ex-Senator  Ben  Stark,  Smith  M.  Weed,  General  Duryea, 
Judge  J.  J.  Freedman,  Judge  Kilbreth,  and  John  T.  Hoffman. 

Some  eight  days  later,  probably  as  an  outcome  of  the 
reunion,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  a  circular  to  be 
sent  to  prominent  Democrats  throughout  the  United  States, 
inviting  them  to  become  out-of-town  members  of  the  Man- 
hattan Club. 

The  next  considerable  political  reception  was  given,  De- 
cember 29,  1874,  to  Tilden  and  Wickham,  at  that  time  the 
hope  of  the  Democratic  Party,  and  respectively  Governor 
and  Mayor-elect  of  New  York.  The  affair  was  much  talked 
of,  and  on  the  night  in  question  gas-jets  blazed  out  the 
monograms  of  the  guests  to  the  public. 

Mr.  Augustus  Schell  having  resigned  as  president,  it  was 
Mr.  August  Belmont  who  presided  over  this  reception,  pro- 

38 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

nounced  by  the  morning  papers  of  that  day  the  greatest 
gathering  of  Democrats  ever  brought  together. 

This  time  we  hear  less  about  the  decorations, — one  re- 
porter, a  Republican,  grumbling  because  the  speeches  were 
delivered  up-stairs,  where  he  suffered  from  lack  of  both  room 
and  air,  and  not  down-stairs,  the  great  applause  attending 
the  entrance  of  Mr.  Tilden  on  the  arm  of  Mr.  Augustus 
Schell  "quite  deafening  him." 

The  "dinner,"  as  he  calls  it,  however,  not  only  excited  his 
enthusiasm  but  that  of  his  fellow-reporters,  who  tell  us  that 
it  was  "sumptuous,"  "very  fine,"  and  "under  the  superin- 
tendence of  one  Felix  Deliee."  Douglas  Taylor  preserved 
the  menu,  which  carried  more  than  a  dozen  courses ! 

The  speeches  were  full  of  raillery,  Mr.  Belmont  assuring 
Messrs.  Tilden  and  Wickham  that  the  secret  of  their  success 
lay  entirely  in  their  being  members  of  the  Manhattan  Club, 
and  telling  the  gathered  throng  that,  as  president  of  that 
Club,  he  resented  its  being  dubbed  the  "silk-stocking  end  of 
the  party." 

Mr.  Tilden,  Mr.  Wickham,  Judge  Bedell  of  New  Jersey, 
Governor  IngersoU  of  Connecticut,  Hon.  Charles  Faulkner 
of  Virginia,  Hon.  Randall  Gibson  of  Louisiana,  ex-Governor 
John  T.  Hoffman,  Governor  Parker  of  New  Jersey,  Hon. 
John  K.  Tarbox  of  Massachusetts,  all  made  speeches,  while 
letters  were  read  from  George  Ticknor  Curtis,  Horatio  Sey- 
mour, Clarkson  M.  Potter,  Edward  Atkinson,  Hon.  W.  P. 
Banks,  Reverdy  Johnson,  Hon.  Fernando  Wood,  Governor 
William  Allen,  and  Thomas  A.  Hendricks. 

In  the  assembly  were  Judge  Sutherland,  Hon.  Abram  S. 
Hewitt,  Chief  Justice  Charles  P.  Daly,  Judge  Abbott,  Con- 
gressman Roosevelt,  Hon.  Philip  Cook  of  Georgia,  and  G.  M. 
Dallas  of  Texas. 

It  seemed  the  fate  of  the  Club,  in  those  early  years,  to  lose 
many  officers  by  death.  In  July,  1868,  occurred  that  of  Judge 
Anthony   Lispenard   Robertson,    its   vice-president.      Mr. 

39 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

George  Ticknor  Curtis,  in  moving  a  resolution  of  regret  at 
the  loss  of  this  "upright  magistrate,  useful  citizen,  erudite 
scholar,  and  genial  friend,"  pronounced  the  following  ora- 
tion: 

"Mr.  President:  I  desire  to  put  on  record  here  a  few  words 
concerning  the  dear  friend  whom  we  have  lost.  In  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Bar  which  will  doubtless  follow  this  bereave- 
ment, there  will  be  many  to  speak  of  him  who  have  known 
him  longer  than  I  have.  It  has  happened  to  me,  sir,  a  little 
out  of  the  ordinary  experience,  in  consequence  of  a  change 
of  residence  occurring  after  the  middle  period  of  life,  to  have 
passed  from  one  circle  of  friends  of  marked  peculiarities  to 
another  of  not  less  decided  but  quite  different  characteristics. 
He  who  transfers  himself  from  one  community  to  another 
differing  so  essentially  as  this  city  does  from  that  in  which  I 
formerly  lived,  finds  his  life  and  almost  his  consciousness 
divided  into  distinct  portions,  to  one  of  which  belongs 
vividly  the  old,  and  to  the  other  the  new.  Yet  it  would  be 
impossible  for  me  to  tell,  although  it  is  not  more  than  six 
years  ago,  where  I  first  met  the  late  Chief  Justice  Robertson, 
or  to  whom  I  owe  the  honor  of  an  introduction  to  him.  It 
seems  to  me  as  if  I  had  known  him  all  my  life,  and  as  if  I 
were  as  much  entitled  to  speak  of  him  as  those  who  were 
born  and  reared  with  him  in  the  same  society.  He  was  a 
man  of  such  strong  elements  of  character,  he  so  quickly  com- 
manded your  sympathies  and  won  your  respect,  that  you  lost 
the  recollection  of  the  time  when  your  knowledge  of  him 
began.  Then,  too,  it  must  be  remembered  that  Judge  Rob- 
ertson thought  of  the  republic  as  we  did,  and  ever  since  there 
has  been  such  a  thing  as  free  political  action,  in  ancient  or  in 
modern  society,  to  think  alike  concerning  the  republic  has 
been  one  of  the  strongest  bonds  that  can  exist  among  men. 
Mr.  President,  Judge  Robertson  has  solved  some  problems 
which  I  had  been  taught  all  my  life  to  regard  as  incapable  of 
satisfactory  solution.    In  the  first  place,  he  has  shown  that  it 

40 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

is  possible  for  an  elective  judicial  system  to  produce  and  to 
keep  an  upright,  independent,  and  fearless  judge,  seen  and 
known  of  all  men  to  be  upright,  independent,  and  fearless.  I 
believe  it  to  be  true  of  this  good  man  that  no  one  has  ever 
stood  before  him  with  a  feeling  of  fear  in  his  heart  that,  let 
the  merits  of  his  case  be  what  they  might,  there  was  an  influ- 
ence, unseen  and  intangible,  which  had  already  decided  or 
was  to  decide  it,  in  spite  of  all  that  argument  and  reason  and 
truth  could  do.  No  advocate  has  been  sent  before  him,  se- 
lected because  of  a  supposed  personal  influence.  No  com- 
bination of  political,  social,  or  pecuniary  interests  has  ever 
had  the  power  to  approach  him.  Although  living  in  the 
freest  intercourse  with  a  wide  circle  of  friends,  many  of 
whom  were  concerned  in  the  litigations  before  him,  he  never 
conversed  upon  the  causes  upon  which  he  was  to  act.  Per- 
haps this  may  be  no  great  praise.  Perhaps  there  may  be  a 
state  of  society  in  which  it  would  be  the  highest  praise.  In 
the  next  place.  Judge  Robertson  has  shown  that  it  is  pos- 
sible for  a  judge  to  be  every  inch  a  judge,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  maintain  an  active  connection  with  a  great  political 
party.  It  is  certain  that  in  his  judicial  capacity  he  com- 
manded the  confidence  of  all  parties,  and  yet  he  was  an 
earnest  and  decided  man  in  his  political  opinions,  and  loyal 
in  every  way  to  the  party  with  which  he  was  connected.  He 
has  gone  from  us  very  suddenly.  How  long  his  memory  will 
be  kept  green  in  the  general  minds  we  cannot  know;  but 
there  are  those  to  whom  it  will  remain  while  anything  re- 
mains to  them  of  what  they  have  known  and  loved  in  this 
transitory  world.  As  they  part  from  him,  in  the  firm  but 
tender  parting  that  his  manly  heart  would  have  chosen,  one 
can  imagine  that  they  say  to  him: 
"  'We  have  been  long  together, 

Through  pleasant  and  through  cloudy  weather; 

'T  is  hard  to  part  when  friends  are  deeur ; 

Perhaps  't  will  cost  a  sigh,  a  tear; 

41 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

Then  steal  away,  give  little  warning. 
Choose  thine  own  time ; 

Say  not  good  night,  but  in  some  brighter  clime 
Bid  us  good  morning.'  " 

On  February  5,  1869,  Mr.  Samuel  L.  M.  Barlow  was 
elected  to  fill  Judge  Robertson's  place. 

After  serving  seven  years  as  president  of  the  Club  and  five 
as  vice-president,  the  Hon.  Augustus  Schell,  October  8, 
1874,  declining  re-election  for  reasons  which  the  Club  ac- 
cepted as  final,  a  vote  of  thanks  to  him  was  passed  in  grati- 
tude for  "all  the  efforts  he  had  made  to  further  the  welfare 
of  the  Manhattan  Club,"  the  members  feeling  that  they  could 
not  permit  him  to  retire  without  the  "cordial  expression  of 
their  respect  and  regard." 

The  Hon.  Augustus  Schell,  its  second  president,  was  a 
member  of  the  Manhattan  Club  for  twenty  years  from  its 
inception  to  his  death  in  1884.  He  was  a  man  of  singular 
tenacity  in  his  attachments,  conspicuous  alike  for  the  liber- 
ality of  his  disposition,  the  independence  of  his  character, 
and  the  obduracy  of  his  convictions. 

His  portrait,  presented  April  14,  1887,  by  his  son  Edward 
Schell,  and  that  of  Judge  Robertson,  paid  for  from  funds 
raised  by  subscription,  became  Club  property  and  were  hung 
on  its  walls.  Judge  Aaron  Vanderpoel,  at  the  time  of  the 
presentation  of  the  portrait  of  Mr.  Schell,  proposed  to  write 
a  sketch  of  the  former  President's  life  for  the  Club ;  but,  his 
own  death  occurring  a  few  months  later,  this  unfortunately 
was  never  completed.  On  November  15,  1872,  the  House 
Committee  was  instructed  to  connect  the  club-house  with 
the  American  District  Telegraph  Company.  It  was  not, 
however,  until  November  4,  1878,  that  election  returns  over 
private  wire  were  arranged.  Since  then  "Election  Nights" 
have  been  great  affairs. 

On  February  4,  1875,  Mr.  Augustus  W.  Clason  made  the 

42 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

gift  of  the  fine  portrait  of  General  Jackson  which  is  one  of 
the  most  valued  possessions  of  the  Club. 

The  year  1876  drew  from  the  Manhattan  Club  a  vigorous 
protest  against  President  Grant's  use  of  troops  in  the  South. 
The  resolution,  appointing  Messrs.  Sidney  Webster,  Manton 
Marble,  Manuel  B.  Hart,  and  August  Belmont  a  committee 
"to  prepare  and  publish  appropriate  resolutions  denouncing 
the  recent  use  in  New  Orleans  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States  of  the  army  of  the  United  States  to  influence  the 
organization  and  control  the  deliberations  of  the  elected 
Legislature  of  the  State  of  Louisiana,  without  due  applica- 
tion therefor  by  the  Executive  or  the  Legislature  of  such 
State,  there  being  neither  foreign  invasion  nor  domestic  in- 
surrection therein,"  brings  the  purely  political  acts  of  the 
Old  Club  to  their  close. 


W;^^>p*p!^p^-ir^:!^^ 

i^^(^^^^^M^^Sj 

CHAPTER  THE  SIXTH 

The  New  Club — Its  Articles  of  Incorporation — Arrangements  for  the 
Renewal  of  the  Leasehold— The  Formal  Acts  of  Transfer 

ROM  its  foundation  the  matter  of  its  incor- 
poration engaged  the  Club's  energies  and 
occupied  its  discussions. 

On  July  3,  1868,  a  committee  consisting 
of  Judge  Robertson  and  Mr.  Andrew  H. 
Green  was  appointed  "to  consider  the  pro- 
priety of  obtaining  an  act  of  incorporation 
for  this  Club,  and  to  prepare  and  report  a  bill  therefor,"  and 
also  to  report  what  measures  were  to  be  taken  to  preserve 
"the  title  of  the  Club  to  the  property." 

As  a  result  of  this  committee's  report,  October  2,  Judge 
Hilton  and  Mr.  William  Butler  Duncan  were  requested  to 
convey  the  title  of  the  property  to  Mr.  Augustus  Schell  and 
Judge  Robertson,  respectively  president  and  vice-president 
of  the  Club. 

While  the  matter  seems  to  have  been  always  more  or  less 
under  discussion,  definite  steps  towards  actual  incorporation 
were  only  taken,  December  20,  1876,  following  a  resolution 
of  February  4,  1875,  to  incorporate  the  Club. 

On  the  former  date  a  committee  of  fifteen  was  appointed, 
as  a  result  of  the  financial  condition  of  the  Club,  to  devise 

44 


The  New  CI«b— It 

Renewal  of  t\m  Le&s- 


^^m 


Aaron  J.  Vanderpoel 


^Piil 


a  r: 


T  ;'* 


'.% 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

means  to  relieve  it  in  that  direction  and  to  formulate  a  plan 
for  incorporation. 

On  December  26  this  committee,  in  its  report,  proposed 
that  since,  in  the  judgment  of  the  committee,  it  was  expe- 
dient that  the  Club  be  incorporated,  it  be  affiliated  under  the 
general  act  entitled  "An  Act  for  the  Incorporation  of  So- 
cieties or  Clubs  for  Certain  Lawful  Purposes,"  passed  May 
12, 1875,  and  the  amendatory  act,  passed  March  14, 1876. 

It  further  reported  and  proposed  that  a  committee  of  three 
be  appointed  "to  enquire  and  report  to  the  association  into 
the  propriety  and  expediency  of  the  reorganization  of  the 
Club  under  an  act  of  incorporation,  and  to  ascertain  on  what 
terms  and  conditions  the  reorganization  of  the  Club  can  be 
effected  under  the  act  incorporating  the  'Hermitage  Na- 
tional Association.'  "  Steps  already  had  been  taken,  July  i, 
1876,  towards  the  purchase  of  this  Hermitage  Charter  from 
Mr.  Smith  Ely,  who,  with  Messrs.  Agnew  and  Ashley,  was 
appointed  on  the  committee  of  three  recommended.  On 
December  28  Mr.  Agnew  reported  that  the  Hermitage  Char- 
ter could  be  purchased  for  five  hundred  dollars. 

On  January  16,  in  connection  with  a  report  of  the  commit- 
tee of  fifteen,  Mr.  Cooper,  seconded  by  Mr.  Wilson,  proposed 
the  renewal  of  the  lease  of  the  four  lots  occupied  by  the  club- 
house at  a  ground  rent  of  four  thousand  dollars  per  year, 
under  the  general  act  already  referred  to,  passed  May  12, 

1875,  and  the  act  amendatory  thereof,  passed  March  14, 

1876.  Mr.  Cooper  further  proposed  that  all  the  members  of 
the  Club  as  it  stood  should  become  members  of  the  New 
Club  without  being  elected  or  paying  an  initiation  fee,  at  any 
time  before  the  first  of  the  following  May,  provided  such 
member  be  free  from  debt  to  the  Old  Club.  Should  he  have 
failed  to  pay  the  assessment,  imposed  on  the  Club  by  the 
Managing  Committee,  on  or  before  the  first  of  the  coming 
April,  he  should  have  ceased  to  be  a  member  of  the  New 
Club,  being  required  to  sign  a  stipulation  to  that  effect. 

45 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

On  January  29,  1877,  following  Mr.  Cooper's  resolution 
touching  the  new  organization,  Mr.  Coudert  proposed  the 
appointment  of  a  committee  of  five  to  report  the  names  of 
twelve  persons  to  be  inserted  in  the  Certificate  of  Incorpo- 
ration as  managers  of  the  New  Club  for  the  first  year.  This 
committee,  as  appointed,  was  composed  of  Messrs.  F.  R. 
Coudert,  William  E.  Curtis,  E.  L.  Gaul,  Simon  Sterne,  and 
H.  L.  Clinton.  For  the  twelve  managers  these  chose  August 
Belmont,  Augustus  Schell,  Edward  Cooper,  A.  J.  Vander- 
poel,  W.  E.  Rider,  Sidney  Webster,  Oswald  Ottendorfer, 
Clarkson  N.  Potter,  Peter  B.  Olney,  William  C.  Whitney, 
Edward  Patterson,  and  Smith  Ely,  all  of  whose  names  ap- 
pear in  the  Certificate  of  Incorporation  as  the  Board  of  Man- 
agers of  the  New  Club  for  the  first  year. 

The  incorporators  of  the  New  Club  were  J.  Augustus 
Page,  George  H.  Purser,  Edward  Schell,  August  Belmont, 
Charles  D.  Burrill,  Everett  P.  Wheeler,  Richard  Lathers, 
Mortimer  Porter,  Wilson  G.  Hunt,  Augustus  Schell,  F.  H. 
Bangs,  B.  Casserly,  Edward  Cooper,  Aaron  J.  Vanderpoel, 
Edward  Patterson,  John  R.  Brady,  Peter  B.  Olney,  William 
E.  Rider,  Cyrus  Yale,  John  T.  Agnew,  Thomas  R.  Fisher, 
Henry  Wilder  Allen,  and  Benjamin  Hart. 

The  Certificate  of  Incorporation  being  sworn  to  on  Feb- 
ruary 15,  1877,  and  signed  by  Secretary  of  State  Bigelow  on 
February  20,  Messrs.  Vanderpoel,  Schell,  and  Cooper  were 
instructed  to  prepare  the  new  Constitution  and  By-Laws. 

On  March  14,  1877,  these  were  read  and  adopted,  condi- 
tionally to  adoption  by  the  Corporation,  which  on  March  19 
approved  and  ratified  them.  Accordingly,  on  March  20,  the 
rules  of  the  Old  Club  were  adopted  as  the  rules  of  the  New 
Club  where  there  was  no  confliction  between  the  two  consti- 
tutions, and  notices  were  ordered  to  be  sent  out  to  old  mem- 
bers offering  membership. 

According  to  the  new  Constitution,  the  object  of  the  Man- 
hattan Club  was  "to  advance  Democratic  principles,  to  pro- 

46 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

mote  social  intercourse  among  its  members,  and  to  provide 
them  with  the  conveniences  of  a  club-house." 

The  officers  elected  for  the  New  Club  were  August  Bel- 
mont, president;  A.  J.  Vanderpoel,  vice-president;  Peter  B. 
Olney,  treasurer;  William  E.  Rider,  secretary;  and  for  the 
House  Committee,  Augustus  Schell,  A.  J.  Vanderpoel,  and 
William  E.  Rider. 

In  regard  to  the  members  of  the  Old  Club  it  was  finally 
arranged  that,  if  not  in  arrears  to  the  Club,  they  could  be- 
come members  of  the  New  Club  by  enrolling  before  June  i. 
They  were  then  to  be  exempt  from  entrance  fee  and  the 
annual  half-yearly  dues  to  March  i,  1877. 

After  June  i  the  entrance  fee  could  be  remitted  by  the 
Board  of  Managers  for  those  enrolling  before  September  i, 
and  half  of  it  for  any  who  had  resigned  from  the  Old  Club 
between  January  i,  1875,  and  March  i,  1877,  and  wished  to 
re-enter  the  New  Club. 


CHAPTER  THE  SEVENTH 


Club  Ups  and  Downs — Its  Long  and  Arduous  Financial  Struggle- 
Grievous  Loss  by  Robbery — Final  Adjustment  of  its  Money  Affairs 


HE  financial  affairs  of  the  Club  from  the 
first  had  given  concern  to  the  more  careful 
members  of  the  various  committees  having 
them  in  charge.  The  treasurer's  report  at 
the  end  of  the  fourth  year  of  the  Club's 
existence,  proving  how  conscientious  they 
were,  was  as  follows : 


Receipts 

From  October  i,  1865,  to  October  i,  1866. 
"  I,  1866,  "  "  I,  1867. 
"  I,  1867,  "  "  1,  1868. 
"       I,  1868,  "         "        I,  1869. 


Payments 

From  October  i,  1865,  to  October  i,  1866. 
"       I,  1866,  "  "        I,  1867. 

"       I,  1867,  "  "        I,  1868. 

"       I,  1868,  "  "        I,  1869. 


$146,282.94 

91,288.73 

102,284.62 

93.505-73 


$433»362.02 


$122,435.64 

104,236.59 

103,623.36 

90,404.96 


Cash  balance,  October  i,  1869. 


420,700.55 
$12,661.47 


Affairs,  unfortunately,  did  not  continue  on  this  happy 

48 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

basis,  and  from  1869  to  the  date  of  the  reorganization  a  con- 
stant financial  struggle  seems  to  have  been  the  rule. 

As  early  as  December,  1869,  we  find  the  treasurer  being 
instructed  to  prepare  a  plan  for  payment  of  the  $50,000  pur- 
chase money,  then  due  upon  the  club-house.  Four  days  later 
it  was  voted  that  a  mortgage  of  $50,000  be  executed  to  secure 
payment  of  bonds  to  be  issued  to  that  amount.  At  the  same 
time  the  resolution  of  October  8,  1868,  which  conveyed  the 
title  of  the  property  to  Mr.  Schell  and  the  late  Judge  Rob- 
ertson, as  president  and  vice-president  of  the  Club,  was 
rescinded.  The  committee  which  had  been  appointed,  June 
9,  made  its  report,  and  was  instructed  to  obtain  subscriptions 
to  the  amount  of  the  mortgage  and  to  issue  fifty  seven  per 
cent,  interest  bearing  bonds  therefor. 

On  March  6,  1873,  a  special  committee,  consisting  of 
Messrs.  Webster,  Marble,  Tilden,  Cranston,  and  Miller,  with 
President  Schell  as  chairman,  was  appointed  to  look  into  the 
financial  affairs  of  the  Club  and  report,  which  it  did  on 
March  21,  1873. 

The  committee,  it  seems,  found  the  Club's  affairs  in  the 
greatest  disorder.  One  Jones,  the  steward,  when  con- 
fronted, confessed  that,  with  the  connivance  and  co-opera- 
tion of  certain  other  Club  employees,  he  had  systematically 
plundered  tills,  larders,  and  wine-cellcir  to  the  extent  of 
$20,000. 

The  House  Committee  at  once  resigned,  and  on  May  2, 
1873,  the  members  were  assessed  fifty  dollars  each  to  pay 
such  Club  indebtedness  as  was  not  covered  by  the  mortgage, 
the  treasurer  being  instructed  to  send  out  a  report  of  the 
Club's  financial  state  and  its  numerical  strength  to  its  mem- 
bers. 

On  June  6  the  motion  to  assess  the  members  was  re- 
scinded, and  it  was  resolved  that  Judge  Henry  Hilton  and 
Mr.  William  Butler  Duncan,  the  assignees  of  the  lease  of  the 
property  on  Fifth  Avenue  and  Fifteenth  Street,  then  occu- 

49 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

pied  by  the  Club,  be  requested  to  execute  a  mortgage  for 
$77,000  to  the  Union  Trust  Company  of  New  York  as  trus- 
tee, payable  twenty  years  after  date,  to  secure  one  hundred 
and  ten  bonds  of  $700  each,  dated  October  i,  1872,  with  in- 
terest thereon  at  the  rate  of  seven  per  cent,  per  annum,  pay- 
able annually. 

The  proceeds  of  $50,000  of  the  bonds  secured  by  the  mort- 
gage were  to  be  set  apart  and  applied  to  the  payment  of  the 
mortgage  for  $50,000,  then  outstanding  on  the  property. 
The  remaining  $27,000  was  to  be  applied,  under  the  direction 
of  the  treasurer,  to  paying  the  indebtedness  of  the  Club. 

The  initiation  fees  of  all  members  to  be  elected  in  future 
were  to  form  a  sinking  fund  for  the  redemption  of  these 
bonds,  and,  the  mortgage  executed  and  recorded.  Judge  Hil- 
ton and  Mr.  Duncan  were  to  execute  a  Declaration  of 
Trust  to  be  revised  by  Messrs.  Roosevelt,  Williamson,  and 
Hackett,  who  were  also  to  examine  the  lease  under  which 
the  Club  then  held  the  property  and  to  report  to  the  Manag- 
ing Committee  what  action  was  necessary  to  protect  its  in- 
terests. The  completion  of  this  business  was  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Duncan. 

On  December  1 1  a  general  meeting  of  the  Club  was  held 
to  discuss  financial  matters,  with  the  result  that  further 
efforts  were  made  to  liquidate  the  debt  by  sale  of  bonds 
through  Belmont  &  Co.,  with  the  result  that  on  April  2, 1874, 
the  Club  indebtedness  was  reported  at  $21,000. 

On  July  4,  the  Managing  Committee,  by  lot,  classified 
themselves  to  cease  as  members  on  certain  dates  as  follows : 

August  Belmont,  John  T.  Agnew,  Horatio  Seymour, 
George  Garr,  and  Henry  Wilder  Allen  to  cease  to  be  mem- 
bers of  the  Managing  Committee,  October,  1874. 

S.  L.  M.  Barlow,  Manton  Marble,  Sidney  Webster, 
Thomas  R.  Fisher,  and  William  Butler  Duncan  to  cease  to 
be  members  of  the  Managing  Committee,  October,  1875. 

Augustus  Schell,  Charles  O'Conor,  William  H.  Hurlbert, 

50 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

Cyrus  Yale,  and  Bernard  Casserly  to  cease  to  be  members 
of  the  Managing  Committee,  October,  1876. 

John  R.  Brady,  E.  B.  Hart,  John  C.  Maximos,  William  C. 
Wickham,  and  Robert  B.  Roosevelt  to  cease  to  be  members 
of  the  Managing  Committee,  October,  1877. 

Smith  Ely,  Douglas  Taylor,  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  J.  L. 
Macaulay,  and  W.  E.  Rider  to  cease  to  be  members  of  the 
Managing  Committee,  October,  1878. 

The  mortgage  does  not  appesir  to  have  put  the  Club  on  its 
feet  financially,  since  on  January  6,  1876,  the  dues  were 
raised  to  seventy-five  dollars.  On  December  17,  1875, 
Messrs.  Hilton  and  Duncan  were  requested  to  assign  the 
lease,  held  by  them  since  1873,  to  President  August  Belmont, 
John  T.  Agnew,  and  Sidney  Webster. 

On  March  2,  1876,  Messrs.  John  T.  Agnew  and  A.  W. 
Clason,  a  committee  appointed  to  look  into  the  accounts,  re- 
ported that  prior  to  February  i,  1874,  they  had  been  kept 
very  loosely;  and  on  April  i  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  fore- 
close the  mortgage.  On  December  20,  at  the  members' 
meeting,  it  was,  as  before  stated,  voted  wise  to  appoint  a 
committee  of  fifteen  to  devise  means  of  relieving  the  Club  of 
foreclosure  and  indebtedness  and  to  make  plans  for  its  in- 
corporation. 

Mr.  Purser,  in  connection  with  this  committee,  reported 
that,  besides  unpaid  dues  for  the  past  years,  the  sum  of 
$8025  was  owed  by  one  hundred  and  seventeen  members  for 
the  annual  dues  payable  from  October  i,  1876,  and  about 
$3300  to  the  restaurant  for  supplies  actually  furnished.  To 
meet  Club  obligations  it  was  necessary  that  the  claims  be 
settled  at  once,  and  he  accordingly  requested  the  manage- 
ment to  notify  all  in  arrears  that  if  the  dues  were  not  paid  on 
or  before  February  10,  the  names  of  such  members  should  be 
dropped  from  the  roll  and  legal  proceedings  begun.  This 
was  put  to  a  vote  and  approved  by  the  Club. 

This  committee,  or  rather  a  sub-section  of  it  appointed 

51 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

later,  did  not  make  its  final  report  along  the  line  of  the  Club 
finances  until  1880,  after  the  Old  Club  had  ceased  to  exist. 
It  then  reported  that,  having  failed  to  collect  enough  from 
the  delinquent  members*  dues  to  pay  these  Old  Club  debts,  it 
had  solicited  voluntary  subscriptions.  Five  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  had  been  raised  by  gifts  from 
Augustus  Schell,  Oswald  Ottendorfer,  Samuel  J.  Tilden, 
Aaron  J.  Vanderpoel,  Edward  Cooper,  August  Belmont,  Sid- 
ney Webster,  John  T.  Agnew,  Cyrus  Yale,  Smith  Ely,  Jr., 
John  G.  Davis,  William  C.  Whitney,  William  E.  Curtis, 
Abram  S.  Hewitt,  George  H.  Purser,  Thomas  Holland,  Elijah 
Ward,  Robert  B.  Roosevelt,  and  John  McKeon.  Three  thou- 
sand one  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars  had  been  sub- 
scribed by  the  firms  of  Park  &  Tilford,  Cazade,  Crooks  & 
Raymond,  Purdy  &  Nicholas,  Jantzen  Brothers,  Skidmore  & 
Sons,  Acker,  Merrall  &  Condit,  A.  &  E.  Robbins,  and  Drohn 
&  Co.  Vouchers  were  also  given  by  the  firms  of  Park  & 
Tilford,  Acker,  Merrall  &  Condit,  Cazade,  Crooks  &  Ray- 
mond, A.  &  E.  Robbins,  Jantzen  Brothers,  Drohn  &  Co., 
Purdy  &  Nicholas,  and  Skidmore  &  Sons. 

These  two  amounts,  with  the  balance  in  the  bank  of  $2.98, 
brought  the  sum  to  $8927.98,  and  with  it  all  debts  were  set- 
tled, with  the  exception  of  the  taxes  for  1876.  These,  on  the 
discovery  that  they  had  not  been  paid,  were,  with  their  in- 
terest, paid  on  March  16, 1883,  the  amount  being  $4155. 

This  report  was  presented  by  Messrs.  Schell  and  Yale, 
who,  it  will  be  recalled,  were  appointed  on  March  7,  1877, 
with  power  to  collect  the  Club  debts,  and  who  reported  that 
they  had  collected  only  enough  to  reduce  these  debts  to 
$17,000,  and  that  the  New  Club,  being  in  a  conditional  state, 
could  not  pay  them. 

In  the  meantime,  to  return  to  the  year  1877,  the  committee 
of  fifteen  made  its  preliminary  report  at  the  January  meet- 
ing, when  it  asked  that  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  to 
look  into  the  matter  of  Club  liabilities  and  assets. 

52 


i.ater. 


John  O.  Davis,  W 

Abram  S.  Hewitt,  G 

Ward,  Robert  B.  R(x>^. 

sand  one  hundred  and 

scribed  by  the   firms  of  Park  &  ' 

R 

e  Frederic  R.  Coudert 


V.' 


eyear  1877,  the  c 
report  at  the  Jr 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

Accordingly,  Messrs.  Rider,  Holland,  and  Porter  were 
named  for  that  committee,  Messrs.  Vanderpoel,  Webster, 
and  Davis  forming  a  second  committee  to  ascertain  and  re- 
port the  terms  and  conditions  upon  which  the  debts  owed  by 
the  Club  could  be  adjusted  and  settled. 

On  March  7, 1877,  a  committee  consisting  of  Messrs.  Yale, 
Fisher,  and  Taylor  was  appointed  to  meet  a  committee  of  the 
New  Club  and  arrange  for  a  sale  of  the  furniture,  fixtures, 
and  stock  of  the  Old  Club,  with  power  to  conclude  the  sale 
and  deliver  the  furniture. 

This  committee  made  a  contract  with  the  committee  of 
the  New  Club,  by  which  it  agreed  to  sell  all  furniture  and 
fixtures  for  such  sum  of  money  as  might  be  required  to  pay 
off  the  deficiency  of  debts  (not  including  mortgage  bonds) 
over  the  assets  of  the  former  organization,  the  sum  not  to 
exceed  $8000,  payment  to  be  made  when  the  financial  condi- 
tion of  the  New  Club  should  justify  it. 

The  supplies  of  the  Old  Club  were  also  to  be  sold  at  cost 
price  to  the  New  Club,  from  surplus  funds  from  Club  sales  at 
the  end  of  each  month,  until  the  whole  amount  was  paid,  the 
manager  of  the  New  Club  to  be  responsible  in  no  way  per- 
sonally for  any  debt  incurred  in  the  sale  of  furniture  or 
supplies.  With  Mr.  Rider  added,  the  committee  was  author- 
ized to  collect  all  debts.  This  authority  was  transferred, 
however,  to  Messrs.  Schell  and  Yale,  with  the  result  already 
stated. 

On  March  17, 1877,  the  New  Club  ratified  its  Constitution, 
and  the  further  financial  transactions  of  the  Club  belong  to 
its  history. 


CHAPTER  THE  EIGHTH 


Early  Years  of  the  New  Club— Many  Constitutional  Changes  and  a 
Few  Receptions— The  Election  of  Grover  Cleveland  to  the  Presi- 
dency—Deaths of  Vice-President  Hendricks,  General  Hancock,  and 
Governor  Seymour. 

HE  New  Club  continued  its  life  in  the  Ben- 
kard  house  until  1890.  Its  existence  during 
those  years  seems  to  have  been  troubled 
constantly  by  the  entanglement  of  its 
finances.  In  trend  it  became  more  and  more 
Democratic,  and  its  membership  steadily 
increased.  The  Club,  as  we  know,  ratified 
its  constitution  on  March  19, 1877.  About  this  time  the  Club 
seal,  bearing  the  legend,  "Manhattan  Club,  1877,"  was 
adopted. 

In  response  to  a  circular  setting  forth  the  principles  of 
the  Club,  which  was  sent  out  on  the  second  of  April  to  resi- 
dent and  non-resident  members,  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
three  members  of  the  Old  Club  identified  themselves  with 
the  New. 

According  to  Article  II,  Section  5,  of  the  new  Constitu- 
tion, any  member  might  become  a  life  member  upon  pay- 
ment of  $700  and  surrender  of  a  mortgage  bond  of  the  Club 
for  $500,  or  on  the  transfer  to  the  New  Club  of  one  of  the 

54 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

thirty-one  bonds  of  the  Old  Club,  each  for  $700,  life  members 
to  be  exempt  forever  from  dues. 

The  first  to  become  life  members  by  surrendering  Club 
bonds  of  $700  were  Douglas  Taylor,  Thomas  R.  Fisher,  and 
Manton  Marble.  Of  the  one  hundred  and  ten  bonds  of  the 
Old  Club,  seventy  were  found  cancelled.  No.  2,  purchased 
at  the  Dimcan  sale  for  $35,  was  presented  to  the  Club  by 
Mr.  McFarland,  and  on  May  2,  1878,  the  Club  received  the 
following  letter  through  Mr.  Olney: 

New  York,  April  29, 1878. 
My  dear  Sir: 

As  I  prefer  to  remain  on  the  same  basis  as  to  annual  dues 
as  other  members  who  do  not  commute,  will  you  please  pre- 
sent to  the  Club,  Bond  No.  16,  being  the  only  one  of  those  I 
took  which  now  remains  in  my  hands. 
Wishing  every  success  to  the  Club, 

I  remain, 

Respectfully, 

S.  J.  Tilden. 

As  an  expression  of  the  Club's  appreciation  of  Mr.  Tilden's 
liberality,  Mr.  Schell  moved  that  his  letter  be  entered  upon 
the  minutes  and  that  "the  thanks  of  the  Board  be  returned 
him  for  his  generous  gift." 

On  June  14, 1877,  the  House  Committee  was  instructed  to 
send  out  a  circular  letter  setting  forth  the  fact  that  Club 
members  were  not  to  be  held  responsible  for  Club  debts,  and 
emphasizing  the  great  benefit  the  Manhattan  Club  might  be 
to  the  Democratic  Party  if  it  could  be  put  upon  a  firm  finan- 
cial foundation.  That  this  circular  letter  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  productive  of  any  great  increase  of  membership 
would  seem  to  be  indicated  by  the  fact  that  on  January  5, 
1878,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  devise  ways  and  means 
of  increasing  the  Club  membership.  At  the  meeting  of  this 
committee  on  January  12,  Mr.  August  Belmont,  president  of 

55 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

the  New  Club,  suggested  that  the  Club  should  be  made  more 
distinctly  Democratic  in  its  tone,  its  receptions  to  reflect  the 
same. 

On  March  21,  1878,  the  Club  amended  its  Constitution  to 
permit  ordinary  members  to  become  non-resident  members 
by  a  vote  of  the  managers,  if  they  were  non-resident  consti- 
tutionally and  not  in  debt  to  the  Club;  also  to  regulate  the 
date  for  the  eventual  surrender  of  bonds,  or  fraction  thereof, 
in  lieu  of  dues,  and  to  permit  the  admission,  if  before  June  i, 
of  not  less  than  forty  members  of  the  Young  Men's  Demo- 
cratic Club  on  such  terms  as  to  fees  as  the  managers  might 
deem  expedient. 

On  May  2,  1878,  forty-five  members  of  the  Young  Men's 
Democratic  Club  took  advantage  of  this  and  joined  the 
Manhattan.  The  New  Club  at  this  time  suffered  a  great  loss 
in  the  resignation  of  Mr.  August  Belmont  as  president.  The 
third  of  its  presidents  and  one  of  the  oldest  of  its  members, 
he  was  also  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  New  York  City  and 
State.  A  faithful  Democrat,  he  rendered  many  and  valuable 
services  to  his  party.  We  find  the  Club  records  dwelling 
upon  the  fact  that  though  he  was  "earnest  in  the  expression 
of  his  views  and  eloquent  in  their  advocacy,"  he  never  "went 
beyond  the  limits  of  good  sense,  good  breeding,  and  entire 
fairness  in  the  effort  to  make  his  political  views  prevail."  His 
services  to  his  country  when  consulted  upon  financial  mat- 
ters, we  are  further  told,  were  invaluable  and  "of  material 
assistance  in  overcoming  doctrines  the  triumph  of  which 
would  have  proved  disastrous  to  the  best  interests  of  the 
nation." 

Moreover,  he  was  a  broad-minded  citizen,  a  generous 
patron  of  art,  a  lover  of  New  York,  and  a  friend  to  all  he 
deemed  for  its  best  interests, — in  short,  "a  man  entitled  to 
the  respect  and  gratitude  of  the  Manhattan  Club,"  a  fact  the 
Club  emphasized  on  the  occasion  of  his  death  on  November 
25, 1890. 

56 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

Two  years  and  a  half  later,  on  June  22,  1893,  Mr.  Bel- 
mont's three  sons,  Perry,  August,  and  Oliver  H.  P.  Belmont, 
presented  to  the  Club  the  fine  portrait  of  their  father  which 
forms  one  of  its  most  valued  possessions.  The  Club  ordered 
that  the  preamble  and  resolutions  drawn  up  by  the  Board  of 
Managers  in  accepting  the  gift,  "as  a  memorial  of  one  of  its 
Presidents  and  most  distinguished  founders,"  should  be  en- 
grossed and  sent  to  the  givers  as  an  expression  in  permanent 
form  of  its  appreciation  of  the  sentiment  that  dictated  the 
gift  of  a  valuable  work  of  art  which  "recalls  in  a  singularly 
lifelike  manner  one  who  was  long  a  leader  in  the  party  which 
it  is  the  design  of  the  Manhattan  Club  to  support  and  en- 
courage." In  the  resolution  which  follows  the  Club  declared 
its  own  faithfulness  to  those  principles  of  popular  govern- 
ment of  which  Mr.  Belmont  was  one  of  the  most  earnest, 
consistent,  and  conspicuous  advocates,  and  it  deemed  it  emi- 
nently appropriate,  therefore,  that  his  memory  should  be 
kept  alive  in  the  Club  by  the  memento  upon  its  walls.  It 
ordered  that  the  preamble  and  resolutions  be  spread  in  full 
upon  the  records  of  the  Board  of  Managers,  as  an  "enduring 
evidence  of  the  generosity  of  the  givers  of  the  fine  portrait, 
as  a  testimonial  of  the  spirit  in  which  it  is  accepted,  and  as  a 
mark  of  the  affectionate  regard  in  which  Mr.  Belmont  was 
held  in  the  Club." 

Judge  Aaron  J.  Vanderpoel  was  elected  in  Mr.  Belmont's 
place,  and  held  office  until  February  11,  1886,  when  he  re- 
signed, Mr.  Manton  Marble  being  elected  his  successor.  The 
Club,  in  accepting  Judge  Vanderpoel's  resignation,  placed 
on  record  a  resolution  declaring  that  his  presidency  had  been 
of  the  greatest  value,  and  that  during  his  term  of  office  many 
strides  were  made  from  adversity  to  prosperity,  he  having 
come  into  office  at  a  critical  moment  in  the  history  of  "the 
most  important  non-factional  Democratic  organization  in 
the  country,"  and  at  his  retirement  leaving  the  Club  in  the 
first  rank  as  the  outcome  of  his  courage  and  ability.    Judge 

57 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

Vanderpoel  lived  only  a  short  time  after  his  retirement,  his 
death  occurring  on  October  13, 1887. 

On  the  seventh  of  May  of  the  following  year  a  group  of 
Club  members  presented  a  portrait  of  Judge  Vanderpoel  to 
the  Club,  as  a  memorial,  they  said,  of  their  friend  who  had 
rendered  such  valuable  services  as  president,  and  also  in 
remembrance  of  his  high  attainments  as  a  member  of  the 
legal  profession,  in  which  he  was  one  of  the  most  prominent 
figures. 

During  the  presidencies  of  Mr.  Belmont  and  Judge  Van- 
derpoel the  Club  had  been  energetic  in  its  work  for  Democ- 
racy. On  January  25,  1878,  it  invited  Professor  Sumner,  of 
Yale,  and  the  Hon.  David  A.  Wells  to  address  its  members 
upon  "The  Silver  Question." 

On  January  2,  1878,  the  Club  honored  General  Winfield 
Scott  Hancock  with  a  dinner,  an  outcome  of  the  latter 
being  the  presentation  of  a  bust  of  General  Hancock,  with 
pedestal,  to  the  Club  by  Mr.  John  T.  Agnew.  On  May  23, 
1878,  it  entertained  with  a  reception  in  honor  of  Governor 
Robinson. 

On  December  8, 1878,  a  reception  was  given  for  Hon.  John 
McKeon,  and  on  the  fourteenth  of  the  following  January 
another  for  the  Governor  and  ex-Governor,  and  in  February 
yet  another  for  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court.  In  1885  a 
reception  was  given  in  honor  of  Grover  Cleveland,  whose 
election  to  the  Presidency  the  Club  celebrated,  expressing 
its  joy  at  the  return  of  its  party  to  power  after  twenty-five 
years.  During  the  preceding  campaign  it  had  extended  its 
privileges  to  the  members  of  the  National  and  State  Com- 
mittees. On  November  12,  1885,  it  gave  a  reception  for 
Governor  Hill. 

Another  event  of  this  period  was  the  sudden  death  of  Mr. 
Cadwallader  Evans,  one  of  the  Club  managers  and  its  secre- 
tary. He  was  still  a  young  man  whose  career  in  business 
had  been  most  promising.     His  interest  in  the  Club  was 

58 


r  Quei 

Charles  H.  Truax 


StJl*  V-\~14U^        \Jl 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

never-failing,  and  his  faithful  performance  of  his  official  duty 
made  him  an  invaluable  member.  His  loss  was  mourned 
sincerely,  the  Club  expressing  its  satisfaction  at  the  energy 
and  ability  shown  in  his  life,  and  its  gratitude  for  the  zeal, 
intelligence,  and  industry  displayed  by  him  as  its  officer. 

On  March  20,  1879,  the  Club  amended  its  Constitution  to 
excuse  from  payment  of  dues  any  member  who  might  be 
absent  from  the  United  States  for  a  year  or  more.  The  year 
1 88 1  witnessed  the  assassination  of  President  Garfield.  On 
the  occasion  of  his  death,  on  September  23,  the  Club  passed 
the  following  resolution  of  sympathy,  prepared  by  Messrs. 
Hewitt  and  Coudert : 

'^Resolved,  That  the  Governors  of  the  Manhattan  Club 
share  in  the  imiversal  sorrow  which  pervades  the  country 
at  the  untimely  death  of  President  Garfield,  and  they  tender 
to  his  bereaved  family  the  expression  of  their  profound  sym- 
pathy for  the  irreparable  loss  which  they  have  sustained." 

Upon  the  death  of  Vice-President  Hendricks,  January  14, 
1886,  the  Club  unanimously  passed  the  following  resolu- 
tion of  regret  at  the  loss  of  its  party's  first  Vice-President 
since  the  War : 

"Be  it  therefore  resolved,  That  the  Manhattan  Club, 
through  its  managers,  desires  to  record  and  make  public  its 
respect  for  the  deceased  Vice-President,  to  express  its  grati- 
tude for  his  honorable  service  to  the  nation,  and  its  recogni- 
tion of  the  firmness  with  which  he  has  sought  to  preserve 
intact  the  inheritance  which  we  have  received  from  the 
founders  of  our  political  existence.  That  the  nation  has  lost 
in  him  not  only  a  citizen  conspicuous  for  abilities  long  and 
usefully  exercised,  but  a  servant  whose  integrity  was  never 
questioned,  whose  patriotism  was  above  reproach,  and  whose 
private  life  was  a  living  example  to  the  younger  generation. 
He  has  proved  that  success  in  political  life  does  not  depend 

59 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

upon  artful  efforts  to  win  public  confidence  by  unworthy 
methods,  but  rather  that  the  surest  way  to  win  the  confidence 
of  the  American  people  is  to  deserve  it." 

In  January  of  the  following  year  Mr.  John  T.  Agnew  pre- 
sented a  portrait  of  Vice-President  Hendricks  to  the  Club. 

Other  deaths  of  leading  Democrats  during  this  period 
were  those  of  General  Hancock,  February  ii,  1886,  and 
Horatio  Seymour,  February  13, 1886. 


CHAPTER  THE  NINTH 


Last  Years  in  the  Benkard  House — Removal  to  the  Stewart  House, 
called  the  "Whited  Sepulchre" — Memorials  of  Mr.  Cleveland — 
Death  of  Mr.  Tilden. 

NDER  date  of  June  3,  1869,  we  find  the 
first  mention  in  Club  annals  of  a  desire  for 
the  purchase  of  a  site  for  a  club-house. 
Messrs.  Marble,  Green,  Munson,  and  Schell 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  consider  the 
matter  and  hunt  for  an  available  location, 
but  nothing  definite  seems  to  have  been 
done,  perhaps  because  of  the  increasing  entanglement  of  the 
Club's  finances. 

By  January  19,  1883,  these  must  have  considerably 
mended,  since  it  is  then  that  we  find  the  Club  accepting  plans 
for  extending  the  Benkard  house  by  the  enlargement  of  the 
balcony  into  a  summer  dining-room,  about  which  we  heard 
from  Mr.  Lyons  in  a  previous  chapter. 

Five  years  later,  December  8,  1887,  a  request  was  signed 
by  thirty  of  the  Club  members  calling  for  a  special  meeting 
to  consider  the  acquiring  of  a  club-house  farther  up-town. 
This  meeting  took  place  on  January  19, 1888,  and  resulted  in 
the  formation  of  a  committee  of  five  whose  duty  it  was  to 
look  into  the  financial  condition  of  the  Club,  and  report  if  its 

6z 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

funds  justified  such  a  removal  at  a  certain  increase  in  ex- 
penses, the  Club  having  decided  that,  if  practicable,  such  a 
removal  was  desired. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  the  following  April  the  treasurer  was 
instructed  to  offer  $800,000  for  the  Stewart  mansion  on  Fifth 
Avenue  and  Thirty-fourth  Street,  a  proceeding  suspended  in 
September  because  the  Stewart  heirs  refused  the  $800,000, 
but  resumed  later  (February  13, 1890)  on  the  basis  of  a  lease 
of  the  property.  Owing  to  the  many  interests  involved  and 
to  the  litigation  pending,  it  was  feared  that  the  choice  of  the 
Stewart  mansion  for  the  new  club-house  must  be  abandoned. 
At  last,  however,  affairs  were  arranged,  and  in  February  the 
terms  were  agreed  upon,  reduced  to  writing,  and  agreements 
of  lease  exchanged,  the  Club  to  take  the  property  for  a  series 
of  short  terms  aggregating  twenty-one  years.  For  the  first 
five  years  it  was  to  pay  $35,000,  for  the  second  $37,500,  dur- 
ing the  next  $40,000,  and  for  the  final  six  years  the  same.  In 
addition,  the  Club  was  to  pay  taxes,  possible  assessments, 
and  other  charges  on  the  property. 

Affairs  being  thus  settled,  Messrs.  J.  Sergeant  Cram  and 
L.  Holme  were,  on  February  20,  1890,  appointed  a  commit- 
tee to  arrange  for  the  sale  of  the  Benkard  house  for  $75,000; 
and  on  March  i,  1890,  a  Committee  on  Improvement  took 
possession  of  the  Stewart  house,  the  Board  of  Managers  of 
the  new  club-house  reporting,  March  20,  1890,  the  details  of 
the  lease.  The  rent  being  payable  by  them  quarterly  in  ad- 
vance from  March  i,  the  landlords  had  received  $8750  in  dis- 
charge of  obligations  to  June.  In  addition,  $2100  had  been 
paid  for  the  furniture  of  the  Stewart  mansion. 

By  further  terms  of  the  lease,  security  was  to  be  given  by 
five  persons  for  the  payment  of  the  rent  and  the  discharge  of 
the  obligations  incurred  by  virtue  of  the  lease  during  the 
first  of  the  terms  of  five  years,  a  condition  agreed  to,  several 
members  of  the  Board,  with  the  addition  of  Mr.  George  G. 
Haven,  becoming  guarantors. 

62 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

That  these  members  might  be  free  of  any  personal  obliga- 
tion in  the  matter,  the  Club  agreed  to  deposit,  at  any  time 
during  the  five  years,  $100,000  in  satisfactory  securities,  and 
procure  a  cancellation  of  the  investment  of  guarantee;  the 
Board  of  Managers  proposing  an  issue  of  Club  bonds  to  that 
amount,  the  proceeds  of  these  bonds  to  be  safely  invested  in 
a  manner  satisfactory  to  the  owners  of  the  Stewart  mansion. 
In  the  event  of  its  being  decided  advisable  to  increase  the 
sum  to  $150,000,  the  extra  $50,000  was  to  be  devoted  to  pay- 
ing for  such  alterations  and  improvements  as  the  new  situa- 
tion of  the  Club  might  demand.  At  the  expiration  of  five 
years  the  $100,000  thus  invested  would  again  become  the 
property  of  the  Club,  and  might  be  devoted  to  the  discharge 
of  bonds  to  that  extent.  To  justify  such  expenditure,  the 
committee  reported  that  there  had  been  so  large  an  increase 
in  membership  that  the  duty  of  discrimination  was  becoming 
more  and  more  imperative. 

On  April  10,  1890,  the  plans  of  the  architect,  Bruce  Price, 
for  the  improvement  of  the  Stewart  property  were  approved, 
and  so  well  did  committee  and  architect  do  their  work  that 
the  third,  tenth,  and  seventeenth  of  December  saw  the  new 
club-house  opened  for  the  inspection  of  the  families  and 
friends  of  the  members,  and  the  Club's  life  in  the  Benkard 
house  brought  to  its  end.  During  the  final  years  in  its  first 
home,  the  Manhattan  Club  had,  April  12,  1888,  extended  its 
courtesies  to  the  New  York  Club  while  its  club-house  was  in 
the  hands  of  the  builders,  and  on  September  7  of  that  year 
had  g^ven  a  reception  in  honor  of  Allen  G.  Thurman. 

In  1889  came  up  the  matter  of  Grover  Cleveland  and  life 
membership.  The  Club,  March  21,  1889,  had  amended  its 
Constitution  to  permit  the  making,  by  the  unanimous  vote 
of  the  managers,  of  any  President  or  ex-President  of  the 
United  States  a  life  member  without  payment.  The  first  so 
to  be  honored  under  the  new  amendment  was  ex-President 
Cleveland,  April  11, 1889. 

63 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

In  response,  Mr.  Cleveland  wrote  Mr.  Frederic  R.  Cou- 
dert,  at  that  time  President  of  the  Manhattan  Club,  the  fol- 
lowing letter : 

F.  R.  Coudert.  Esq.  ^^P"^"  ^3. 1889. 

My  dear  Sir:  I  have  just  received  your  letter  enclosing  a 
note  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Manhattan  Club  informing 
me  of  my  election  to  a  life  membership  in  that  organization, 
in  accordance  with  an  amendment  of  its  Constitution. 

The  kindly  feeling  manifested  by  this  action  is  especially 
gratifying;  and  yet  I  am  determined  to  ask  of  those  who 
have  been  so  kind  to  give  further  proof  of  their  considera- 
tion, by  permitting  me  to  become  an  every-day,  paying,  ordi- 
nary member  of  the  Club.  In  other  words,  I  should  be  glad 
to  surrender  my  ex-President  life  membership  for  the  ordi- 
nary contributing  membership. 

I  understand,  of  course,  that  I  must  run  the  chance  of  an 
election;  but  if  the  opportunity  is  afforded  me,  my  intentions, 
fully  formed  when  I  took  up  my  residence  here,  will  be  car- 
ried out.    Can  you  help  me  in  this  matter? 
Yours  very  sincerely, 

(Signed)     Grover  Cleveland. 

In  1889  an  appropriation  of  $1000  was  made  for  the  Club 
library,  a  Library  Committee  consisting  of  Judge  E.  Patter- 
son and  Messrs.  Roger  Foster  and  W.  W.  Baldwin  being 
appointed. 

Before  the  removal  to  the  new  club-house,  the  limit  of 
membership  was  set,  March  20,  at  twelve  hundred  and  fifty; 
Thomas  F.  Ryan,  a  few  days  later  (March  31),  joining  the 
Club. 

During  this  period  the  Club  lost  a  number  of  its  leading 
members  by  death,  one  being  John  T.  Hoffman,  in  the  years 
termed  "post-bellum"  one  of  the  foremost  figures  in  New 
York  City  and  State  politics.  Tammany  Hall  ran  him  in 
1865  for  mayor.    His  impeccable  record  won  him  the  race. 

64 


JMEr.  i 

anhat" 


ng  mt 
of  the  Club.    Ir 


uie  iiisizniiersiiif^  ior  me  wcu- 


/o^^  iifojie  nee  of  an 

e!  iis. 


Iti 


1  I  tew  day»  later               3i)»  joining  the 
C 

j^tuuj-  t;  '  the  Chib  lost  a  number  of  its  leading 

nscmbers  hx  being  John  T.  Hoffmnn.  in  ^be  'v^ears 

termer!  one  of  the  foremos 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

Among  the  several  opposing  candidates  was  that  famous 
religious  enthusiast,  John  Hecker,  run  by  Mozart  Hall.  It 
was  Mayor  Hoffman  who,  on  the  occasion  of  his  laying  the 
corner-stone  for  the  new  Tammany  Hall  on  Fourteenth 
Street,  made  the  memorable  prophecy  that,  for  the  coming 
half-century  at  least,  it  would  remain  headquarters  for  the 
Democracy  of  New  York.  Besides  being  mayor  of  the  City 
of  New  York,  John  T.  Hoffman  was  twice  governor  of  the 
State,  "in  every  station,"  according  to  Mr.  Manton  Marble, 
"justifying  the  hope  of  his  friends  and  the  confidence  of  his 
party,  and  contributing,  in  the  early  years  of  our  heavy  war 
taxation,  wise  and  instructive  counsels  to  the  legislature  of 
the  State,  which  have  been  to  our  advantage  whenever  fol- 
lowed, and  neglected  to  our  loss."  It  was,  to  cite  again 
Manton  Marble,  "the  justice,  purity,  and  firmness  of  his 
character,  as  proved  by  future  political  events,  which  made 
him  as  worthy  to  have  preceded  Tilden  and  Manning  as  to 
have  followed  Flagg  and  Seymour  in  the  line  of  the  states- 
men of  New  York." 

A  distinct  loss  to  the  Club's  roster  was  William  Dorshei- 
mer,  a  Republican  brought  into  Democratic  ranks  by  his 
disapproval  of  his  party's  Reconstruction  policy.  Soldier, 
United  States  district  attorney,  first  in  the  Northern,  then 
in  the  Southern  District  of  New  York,  and  member  of  Con- 
gress, he  brought  his  activities  to  a  close  by  entering  the 
field  of  journalism.  In  all  vocations  he  showed  himself 
professionally  most  efficient.  He  was  likewise  one  of  the 
most  attractive  of  men.  Twice  lieutenant-governor  of  the 
Empire  State,  he  will  live  in  her  history  as  the  author  of  the 
remodelled  architecture  at  Albany,  as  well  as  of  the  inter- 
national reservation  of  the  Park  and  the  Falls  of  Niagara. 

Another  death  at  this  time  was  that  of  the  Republican 
statesman  Roscoe  Conkling,  which  occurred  in  1888,  some 
seven  years  after  his  retirement  from  public  life,  in  which  he 
had  served  four  times  as  representative  to  Congress,  three 

65 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

times  as  United  States  senator,  "a  career,"  says  Mr.  Man- 
ton  Marble,  "which  left  unclouded  his  title  to  Club  fellow- 
ship and  Club  pride."  Mr.  Marble  tells  us  that  he  "waived 
the  highest  diplomatic  functions,  declined  the  first  judicial 
office,  resigned  the  highest  senatorial  trust,  marks  of  a  char- 
acter unique  in  force  and  style,  one  of  stainless  honor 
through  an  era  of  corruption,  of  unquailing  hardihood  in  a 
day  of  desertions  and  disaster,  sincere,  manly,  constant,  in- 
capable of  disloyalty  to  a  party  or  a  friend."  "These,"  says 
Mr.  Marble,  "are  distinctions  beyond  the  power  of  antago- 
nists to  withhold  or  of  partisans  to  confer."  The  last  years 
of  his  life  Mr.  Conkling  was  out  of  tune  with  his  party,  which 
will  account  for  his  membership  in  the  Manhattan  Club. 

The  death  of  Samuel  J.  Tilden  occurred  in  1886,  and  on 
August  10  the  Club  expressed  its  sense  of  the  loss  of  one  of 
its  most  honored  members  by  appointing  a  committee  of 
thirty  to  attend  his  funeral  in  a  body,  and  by  ordering  a 
preamble  and  resolution  on  his  death  to  be  entered  in  full 
upon  the  minutes  of  the  Club,  a  copy  to  be  sent  to  his  family. 
This  preamble  and  resolution  express  in  feeling  words  the 
tribute  of  Democracy  "to  him  who,  by  the  general  consent  of 
his  fellow-citizens,  was  entitled  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
ablest  statesmen  New  York  State  has  ever  produced,  one 
fully  imbued  with  the  belief  that  the  success  of  the  policy  of 
the  Democratic  Party  and  the  perpetuation  of  its  principles 
were  best  adapted  to  the  present  and  future  needs  of  his  na- 
tion, and  that  by  the  promotion  of  its  success  a  purified  pub- 
lic service  might  be  obtained,  while,  at  the  same  time,  its 
influence  would  serve  as  security  against  the  corrupting 
effects  of  centralized  power." 

He  easily  acquired  and  never  lost  his  hold  upon  the  mass 
and  body  of  the  people,  the  most  malignant  attacks  of  his 
personal  and  political  foes  failing  to  dislodge  him  from  their 
confidence  and  regard.  "As  a  champion  of  public  morality, 
as  a  firm  believer  in  popular  institutions,  as  a  laborious  ser- 

66 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

vant  of  never-questioned  integrity,  he  earned,"  continues  the 
resolution,  "what  he  deserved — the  respect  of  his  people 
while  living,  a  place  with  the  best  of  departed  leaders  when 
dead.  As  a  wise  member  of  the  State  legislature,  as  a  gov- 
ernor of  the  Empire  State,  as  President-elect  of  the  United 
States,  he  reaped  the  richest  fruits  of  a  statesman's  ambi- 


tions." 


The  Club,  in  recalling  the  then  recent  deaths  of  Seymour, 
Hancock,  McClellan,  Hendricks,  and  Tilden,  congratulated 
itself  and  the  Democratic  Party  upon  the  realization  that  the 
whole  nation  mourned  their  leaders, — "leaders  of  Democ- 
racy, but  also  the  people's  well-loved  and  trusted  servants, 
one  of  whom,  by  his  wise  forbearance  under  circumstances  of 
singular  injustice,  proving  his  love  of  country  by  patient 
endurance  of  personal  wrong,  demonstrating  that  the 
serenity  of  his  judgment  could  not  be  disturbed  by  personal 
ambition,  emotion,  or  interest." 


CHAPTER  THE  TENTH 


The  Stewart  House — Money  Troubles — Truax,  O'Sullivan,  and  Rodie 
—"Uncle  Tom"  Miller— His  Tragic  End— Factions  of  1896— Colonel 
"Bill"  Brown — His  famous  Cleveland-Hill  Dinner — His  Resignation 
in  a  "Huff"— The  Reception  to  Dewey— The  Admiral's  good  Mem- 
ory. 

HE  era  of  the  Stewart  house  found  the  Club 
again  in  financial  difficulties.  These  were 
at  times  more  burdensome  and  apparently 
less  extricable  than  those  from  which  it  had 
recently  emerged.  Truth  to  say,  the  Stew- 
art house  was  never  very  popular  with  a 
large  section — especially  the  older  section 
— of  the  Club.  It  was  much  too  splendid  for  comfort.  Some 
in  derision  called  it  the  "Marble  Mausoleum,"  and  others  the 
"Whited  Sepulchre." 

Comyns,  the  head  waiter,  already  quoted,  tells  us  in  his 
interview  with  Mr.  Lyons  on  the  subject  of  the  Club,  justly 
and  truly,  that  "in  every  survey  of  the  many-sided  charac- 
ters entering  into  the  history  of  the  Manhattan  Club,  care 
should  be  taken  not  to  forget  to  pay  tribute  to  the  men 
whose  well-trained  minds,  business  abilities,  and  personal 
attention  lifted  it  out  of  terrible  financial  entanglements 
and  replaced  it  on  a  sound,  safe  basis."     During  the  last 

68 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

years  of  its  occupancy  of  the  Thirty-fourth  Street  house  it 
certainly  encountered  many  discouragements ;  it  lost  a  num- 
ber of  its  members,  reducing  its  resources,  and  reached  a 
point  which  required  a  thorough  overhauling  and  radical 
reshaping  of  its  domestic  conditions. 

It  was  necessary  that  the  greatest  executive  ability 
should  be  called  in.  Amid  such  a  concourse  it  was  not  im- 
possible to  find  such  men,  though  naturally  of  diversified 
characteristics.  In  the  end  a  solution  was  reached  so  fair  in 
its  proposals  and  so  practical  in  its  conclusions  that  it  met 
with  general  and  hearty  approbation.  The  final  success  of 
the  scheme  justified  its  authors.  These  were  Sylvester  J. 
O'SuUivan  and  William  S.  Rodie.  Mr.  O'Sullivan  became 
treasurer,  and  Mr.  Rodie  was  made  chairman  of  the  House 
Committee,  a  position  which  he  held  for  many  succeeding 
years.  Both  gentlemen  were  noted  for  their  splendid  busi- 
ness abilities,  strong  organizing  talents,  and  intense  devo- 
tion. They  replaced  the  Club  on  a  firm  financial  footing, 
giving  it  a  prosperity  and  independence  which  it  happily 
still  enjoys. 

In  1889  Mr.  Frederic  R.  Coudert  was  elected  president  of 
the  Club,  with  Mr.  C.  C.  Baldwin  for  vice-president,  Mr.  J. 
Edward  Simmons  (succeeded  by  Mr.  O'SuUivan),  treasurer, 
and  Mr.  David  B.  Gilbert,  whom  we  have  met  in  the  Benkard 
house  chapters,  secretary. 

On  the  House  Committee  of  this  period  were  Messrs.  J. 
Sergeant  Cram,  Charles  H.  Truax,  and  Cyrus  Yale. 

Of  all  these  old  members,  who,  according  to  Com5ms,  "de- 
serve to  be  remembered  with  conspicuous  affection,"  none 
more  richly  merits  the  honor  than  Judge  Charles  H.  Truax. 
Of  a  most  unassuming,  chivalrous  character,  he  was  pos- 
sessed of  an  amiable  temperament  that  endeared  him  to  all 
who  knew  him.  The  story  was  current  that  on  the  occasion 
when  his  fellow-members  honored  him  with  a  banquet,  in  his 
speech  dwelling  on  the  friendly  footing  the  company  felt  for 

69 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

each  other  he  said :  "Every  one  of  you  boys  here,  except  one, 
calls  me  ^Charlie/  and  that  one  is  my  son." 

Judge  Truax  was  a  notable  traveller.  He  had  been  twice 
around  the  world.  He  was  likewise  a  voracious  reader  with 
a  good  memory.  He  became  a  dominant  figure  in  local  poli- 
tics, for  which  he  had  a  natural  bent,  and,  being  a  man  of 
admirable  tact,  was  often  called  upon  to  settle  personal  trou- 
bles and  solve  factional  problems.  He  died  a  Supreme  Court 
justice  of  New  York,  having  sat  upon  the  bench  for  over 
twenty-five  years. 

He  owned  the  most  noted  private  wine-cellar  in  New 
York,  and  was  everywhere  recognized  as  an  exquisite  gour- 
met On  the  occasion  of  his  death  the  Club  resolution  de- 
scribed him  "as  the  most  useful,  best  beloved,  and  valuable  of 
the  members  of  the  Club  and  the  Board."  The  resolution 
continued :  "Whether  as  a  member,  director,  or  president  of 
the  Club,  he  endeared  himself  to  all  by  his  splendid  personal 
qualities  and  the  charm  of  his  companionship,  his  warm 
heart  and  generous  nature — qualities  which  made  him  a 
distinctive  feature  in  the  life  of  the  Club,  and  which  left  it  in 
his  debt  for  his  loyal  and  unselfish  devotion  to  its  interests." 

As  president  of  the  Manhattan  he  served  from  1899  to 
1908.  Coming  into  the  presidency  at  a  time  when  its  affairs 
had  reached  a  low  ebb,  with  Messrs.  O' Sullivan  and  Rodie 
he  succeeded  in  turning  the  tide  effectually  and  permanently. 
The  Club  is  the  happy  possessor  of  a  portrait  of  Judge 
"Charlie,"  presented  to  it  on  February  19,  1902.  On  his 
voluntary  and  insistent  retirement  from  the  presidency  in 
1908,  a  special  vote  of  thanks  was  tendered  to  him  for  his 
invaluable  services. 

It  is  related  of  those  old  Stewart  house  days  that,  at  three 
every  afternoon,  there  gathered  a  famous  group  of  cronies, 
men  prominent  in  many  diverse  walks  of  life,  who  won  the 
nickname  of  the  "Rocking-chair  Fleet."  They  held  their 
sessions  in  the  smoking-room,  disbanding  punctually  as  the 

70 


•s-v  « 'jf  *:*     *»  it  Ik'* 


tne 


'Cj<^, 


-M&* 


n '  as  t 

"  Morgan  J.  O'Brien 


X  C,  except  QliC, 


>t4;  Oi  -o  mm  lor  nii 


d  a  la* 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

clock  struck  six.  The  foremost  of  these  were  D.  P.  In- 
graham,  Arthur  Ingraham,  Gus  Monroe,  Fonny  Fisher,  E. 
C.  Chase,  Will  Murray,  and  John  Woodhall.  Their  conver- 
sation, tradition  says,  ranged  through  all  the  possibilities  of 
science,  politics,  society,  topics  of  the  day,  astronomy,  and 
gastronomy.  An  outcome  of  the  latter  was  the  famous  salad- 
dressing  of  D.  P.  Ingraham,  which  was  voted  a  "classic." 

A  striking  figure  of  those  old  days  was  Colonel  William  L. 
(familiarly  known  as  "Billy")  Brown,  one  of  the  owners  and 
editors  of  the  New  York  "Daily  News,"  a  close  friend  and 
business  colleague  of  the  Hon.  Ben  Wood. 

It  was  in  1892,  just  before  Cleveland's  second  election  to 
the  Presidency,  that  Colonel  Brown  gave  a  dinner  at  the 
Club  in  aid  of  the  effort  the  friends  of  Cleveland  and  Hill 
were  making  to  bring  the  two  together.  There  had  been  an 
estrangement  arising  out  of  factional  differences  and  per- 
sonal misunderstanding,  and  the  mutual  friends  of  both,  in 
the  interest  of  party  harmony,  were  striving  to  close  the 
breach  and  unify  the  common  interest. 

Famous  in  the  annals  of  the  Club  is  Colonel  Brown's  din- 
ner. It  was  one  of  the  most  magnificent  repasts  ever  given 
at  the  Club.  Everything  was  new, — napery,  silver,  glass- 
ware, tables,  chairs  actually  made  to  order  for  the  occasion. 
The  menus,  each  of  which  cost  a  fortune,  were  engraved  in 
elaborate  design  by  the  most  noted  artist  of  the  time.  Covers 
were  laid  for  thirty-two  guests,  who  indulged  in  much  en- 
thusiasm and  considerable  hand-shaking. 

Colonel  Brown,  who  in  the  campaign  of  1896  stood  by 
Bryan  and  party  regularity,  resigned  from  the  Club,  in  com- 
pany with  a  number  of  like-minded  members,  as  a  result  of 
the  demonstration  over  McKinley's  election  to  the  Presi- 
dency. Naturally,  the  Manhattan  was  a  "Gold  Bug."  In  the 
joy  over  the  defeat  of  Bryan  and  Free  Silver,  New  York  went 
wild.  Party  lines  were  for  the  time  forgotten.  A  majority 
of  the  members  of  the  Club,  rejoicing  over  what  they  re- 

71 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

garded  as  an  escape  from  financial  ruin,  demonstrated  their 
independence  by  receiving  the  news  of  McKinley's  election 
with  noisy  satisfaction.  Opposing  interests,  antagonistic 
political  factions  and  parties,  diverse  business  of  all  sorts, 
met  on  common  ground.  Amid  these  felicitations  occurred 
the  incident  which  caused  Colonel  Brown  to  leave  the  Club. 
On  the  night  of  the  election,  the  Union  League  of  New  York 
City,  the  leading  Republican  Club  of  the  country,  headed  by 
a  military  band,  marched  down  Fifth  Avenue  from  Thirty- 
ninth  to  Thirty-fourth  Street,  and  took  possession  of  the 
Manhattan  club-house  amid  a  frenzy  of  rejoicing.  On  its 
return  to  its  own  club-house,  the  Union  League  was  escorted 
by  a  large  and  hilarious  majority  of  the  members  of  the  Man- 
hattan Club.  This  proceeding  being  most  offensive  to  Col- 
onel Brown  and  many  others,  a  number  of  resignations,  his 
among  the  rest,  quickly  followed. 

Another  clubman  destined  to  live  in  memory  was  Cap- 
tain Thomas  Miller,  affectionately  called  "dear  old  Uncle 
Tom,"  one  of  the  most  picturesque  of  the  diversified  and 
peculiar  types  for  which  the  Manhattan  Club  has  been 
noted  and  who  make  its  history  so  interesting.  During  fif- 
teen years  "Uncle  Tom"  daily  arrived  at  the  Club  promptly 
at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  never  left  before  2  a.m., 
the  closing  hour.  It  was  remarked  of  him  that  he  drank 
nothing  but  tea  before  nine  o'clock;  from  then  onwcird,  until 
he  quitted  the  Club,  drinking  everything  except  tea.  He  was 
f  simous  as  a  racon  teur.  He  had  been  on  intimate  terms  with 
most  of  the  prominent  and  influential  members  of  the  Demo- 
cratic Party  of  his  time,  and  his  knowledge  of  striking  inci- 
dents, both  political  and  social,  was  wide  and  universal.  He 
had  an  effusive  and  altogether  striking  personality.  His 
reminiscences  were  the  joy  of  his  associates.  He  was  also 
famous  for  his  clam  and  oyster  stews,  the  recipes  for  which 
were  handed  over  to  Joe  of  the  shell-fish  counter,  thence- 
forth bearing  the  brand  of  the  Manhattan  Club.  "Dear  old 

72 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

Uncle  Tom"  suggested  the  menu  for  many  an  important 
Club  dinner. 

During  twenty-five  years  he  lived  by  himself  in  a  hall  bed- 
room not  far  from  the  club-house.  One  night,  when  the  snow 
was  falling  heavily,  he  incautiously  ventured  forth.  He 
should  not  have  gone  alone.  He  had  grown,  indeed,  very  old 
and  feeble.  It  was  two  o'clock  a.m.,  his  usual  hour.  The 
storm  was  at  its  height.  It  proved  too  much  for  him.  The 
next  morning  he  was  found  lying  unconscious  in  Madison 
Square,  barely  alive.  Borne  to  his  little  hall  room,  "Uncle 
Tom"  soon  ceased  to  breathe. 

The  "star  boarder"  of  the  Manhattan  for  twenty  years,  Mr. 
Rodie's  colleague  in  the  resuscitation  of  the  Club's  finances, 
was  Sylvester  J.  O' Sullivan.  Though  often  a  member  of  the 
House  Committee,  he  was  better  known  as  treasurer.  He 
possessed  a  most  interesting  and  lovable  personality.  He 
was  six  and  a  half  feet  in  height,  and  of  perfect  symmetry. 
Very  exact,  minute,  and  methodical,  never  a  day  was  he 
absent  from  his  place  at  the  dinner-table — always  the  same 
table  in  the  same  spot  in  the  dining-room,  with  practically 
the  same  chums  around  it.  Even  on  occasions  when  ban- 
quets were  held,  this  table  at  the  one  locality  was  reserved 
for  O' Sullivan — known  as  the  "Widow" — and  his  friends.  It 
was  called  the  "Boarding-house."  About  it  gathered  men, 
but  few  of  whom  are  still  living,  of  widely  different  callings, 
held  together  by  the  sturdy  character,  cordial  ways,  and  all- 
around  attractiveness  of  Sylvester  J.  O' Sullivan.  The  very 
identity  of  the  "Boarding-house"  and  its  table  has  been  lost 
since  the  death  of  this  able,  useful,  and  generous  man. 

Mr.  O' Sullivan  could  never  be  tempted  to  make  a  speech. 
If  called  upon,  he  invariably  recited : 

"There  was  an  old  hen  that  had  a  wooden  leg; 
*Twas  the  best  old  hen  that  ever  laid  an  egg. 
She  laid  more  eggs  than  any  chicken  on  the  farm — 
Another  little  drink  won't  do  us  any  harm." 

73 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

It  was  in  those  days  that  Judge  Beach  and  Judge  Allen, 
eminent  members  of  both  Bench  and  Bar,  were  conspicuous 
habitues  of  the  Manhattan.  Judge  Miles  Beach  was  a  distin- 
guished New  York  lawyer  before  he  went  on  the  Bench.  On 
a  certain  occasion  he  and  Judge  Allen  appeared  with  a  guest 
of  naval  appearance,  who  turned  out  to  be  Admiral  Dewey. 
Years  later,  in  1899, — for  that  was  away  back  in  the  early 
eighties, — the  hero  of  Manila  was  given  a  wondrous  ovation 
in  New  York,  following  upon  his  recent  victories.  The  Club 
gave  him  a  notable  reception.  On  this  occasion  the  club- 
house was  decorated  with  United  States  flags  made  into  a 
variety  of  designs.  There  was  much  martial  music  and  lusty 
cheering  by  three  hundred  members.  Judge  Truax  presided, 
and  Mr.  Douglas  Taylor,  seconded  by  Mr.  Jefferson  M. 
Levy,  proposed  resolutions  to  the  "brave  and  generous  offi- 
cers and  gallant  men,"  among  whom  was  one  Manhattan 
member — Flag-Lieutenant  Bromley.  The  oration  of  the 
evening  was  delivered  by  James  B.  Eustis,  recently  ambas- 
sador to  France. 

Dewey  was  a  man  who  never  forgot  a  person  or  thing  once 
seen.  On  the  edge  of  the  crowd  of  that  evening,  so  dense 
that  the  staircase  leading  to  the  dining-room — it  was  in  the 
present  club-house — had  to  be  roped,  the  famous  guest  espied 
a  certain  figure.  After  gazing  at  the  figure  for  a  moment  or 
two,  he  beckoned  to  him  and  extended  his  hand. 

"I  have  been  watching  you  for  some  time,"  he  said  pleas- 
antly ;  "and  I  want  to  tell  you  that  I  have  not  forgotten  how 
well  you  served  me  at  the  old  Manhattan  club-house  on 
Thirty-fourth  Street,  when  I  went  there  with  Judge  Beach 
and  Judge  Allen." 

It  was  Alfred  Comyns,  at  that  time  head  waiter  of  the 
Club  for  over  fifteen  years,  now  for  thirty  years,  but  for 
whose  good  memory  the  Club  might  have  lost  the  tradition 
of  many  celebrated  persons  and  doughty  Democrats. 


CHAPTER  THE  ELEVENTH 


Club  Proceedings  in  the  Stewart  House — A  Round  of  Receptions  to 
Gorman,  Van  Wyck,  and  Cleveland  and  Stevenson — Death  of  the 
distinguished  Frederic  R.  Coudert. 


T  was  in  December,  1890,  that  the  Stewart 
house  was  pronounced  ready  for  Club  oc- 
cupancy, and  on  the  third,  tenth,  and  sev- 
enteenth days  of  that  month  the  famous 
mansion,  at  that  time  one  of  the  wonders 
of  New  York,  was  thrown  open  for  the 
inspection  of  the  families  and  friends  of  the 
members.  The  Stewzirt  house,  erstwhile  home  of  the  mer- 
chant prince,  A.  T.  Stewart,  was,  as  one  may  learn  from  the 
newspapers  of  that  day,  considered  not  only  the  handsomest 
residence  in  the  great  metropolis,  but  the  stateliest  on  the 
continent.  Standing  in  its  marble  splendor,  with  its  noble 
pillars  and  fine  entranceways,  at  a  conspicuous  corner  of 
Fifth  Avenue,  it  long  remained  one  of  the  sights  of  the  town. 
The  Manhattan  Club,  in  taking  possession,  made  no  altera- 
tions in  its  exterior,  and  permitted  only  such  changes  within 
as  were  needful  to  convert  a  private  dwelling  into  a  club- 
house. The  decorations  were  left  untouched,  and  much  of 
the  furniture  was  purchased  by  the  Club.  The  Gold,  the 
Blue,  and  the  White  Room,  all  leading  into  each  other;  the 

75 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

Lace  Room,  in  buff  and  blue;  the  capacious  picture-gallery, 
the  imposing  entrance  hall  and  stairway,  won  lively  admira- 
tion from  all  those  fortunate  enough  to  be  admitted,  and  it 
was  the  general  verdict  that  the  Manhattan  Club  had  indeed 
a  club-house  in  keeping  with  its  position  as  the  leading 
Democratic  Club  of  America. 

The  A.  T.  Stewart  house,  in  the  estimation  of  the  archi- 
tects of  that  day,  was  one  of  the  noblest  buildings  in  all  the 
land.  It  was  in  Italian  Renaissance  style,  weakened,  how- 
ever, by  a  French  mansard  roof,  added  by  Mr.  Stewart  when 
he  needed  an  upper  story.  The  entrance  steps  were  the  talk 
of  New  York,  each  one  quite  thirty  feet  wide,  the  first  plat- 
form being,  it  was  claimed,  the  largest  block  of  marble  ever 
quarried  here.  A  fine  feature  was  the  terrace  on  the  Thirty- 
fourth  Street  side.  The  building  of  this  palace  consumed 
seven  years.  The  marble  railing  around  the  house  cost 
$50,000;  the  rotunda,  $100,000.  The  entrance  hall,  giving 
an  effect  of  imposing  vastness,  was  twenty-five  feet  in 
height,  six  pillars,  each  carved,  even  to  its  overhanging 
capital,  of  one  piece  of  Florentine  marble,  supporting  elab- 
orately ornamented  beams.  The  white  marble  stairway, 
winding  along  the  wall  to  a  rotunda,  was  considered  a  mar- 
vel of  architectural  skill. 

The  House  Committee  chose  the  great  room  with  three 
windows — two  overlooking  Fifth  Avenue  and  one  Thirty- 
fourth  Street — for  the  Club  parlor.  Its  carpet,  made  to 
order,  and  woven,  at  the  bidding  of  Mr.  Stewart,  in  one  piece, 
repeated  the  frescoing  of  the  ceiling  for  a  pattern, — as,  in 
fact,  did  all  the  carpets  in  the  large  rooms  of  the  mansion. 
The  furnishing  of  this  room  consisted  of  rosewood  furniture 
inlaid  with  gilt,  plush-covered  cabinets,  mirrors  and  chan- 
deliers. All  the  floors,  including  that  of  the  basement,  were 
of  Italian  marble.  The  dining-room  extended  across  the 
whole  Fifth  Avenue  front  of  the  third  story,  in  size  forty  by 
twenty  feet.    It  was  indeed  the  apartment  designed  by  Mr. 

76 


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FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

Stewart  for  the  use  of  General  Grant  at  his  pleasure.  A  cool- 
ness, however,  springing  up  between  the  two,  it  was  never  so 
used.  To  avoid  the  odors  of  cooking,  the  kitchen  was  on  the 
top  floor.  There  also  were  bedchambers  for  Club  members. 
The  reception-room  was  upholstered  in  leather  and  lighted 
by  large,  high  windows  framed  in  white  marble,  as  were 
those  of  the  other  rooms.  As  arranged  by  the  Club,  there 
were  private  dining-rooms,  a  number  of  card-rooms,  a  bil- 
liard-table occupying  the  former  picture-gallery,  and  a  cafe 
in  the  basement.  The  staff  of  employees  numbered  one  hun- 
dred and  twelve  persons,  Mr.  P.  McGregor  Cummings  being 
superintendent.  The  chef  at  this  time  was  Domenico  Gian- 
nini. 

Once  settled  in  its  splendid  new  home,  the  Club  began 
giving  receptions,  the  first  planned  being  that  offered  Sena- 
tor Gorman  for  his  efforts  to  defeat  the  so-called  "Force 
Bill,"  against  the  passage  of  which  the  Club  had  passed 
resolutions  on  December  27  of  the  preceding  year.  Senator 
Gorman,  however,  declined  the  honor  of  being  thus  indi- 
vidualized in  the  matter,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  not  he 
alone  who  deserved  it.  New  features,  also,  were  ladies*  re- 
ceptions and  loan  exhibitions  of  works  of  art. 

The  Saratoga  Platform  of  the  Empire  State  Democrats, 
adopted  September  30,  1891,  called  for  the  passage  of  ener- 
getic resolutions  by  the  Club,  which,  in  pledging  its  support, 
declared  that  since  the  Manhattan  had  been  founded  for  the 
advcincement  of  Democratic  principles,  it  believed  it  to  be 
expedient  to  assert,  whenever  occasion  offered  or  required, 
its  sympathy  with,  and  approval  of,  all  measures  calculated 
to  promote  the  success  of  the  Democratic  Party. 

It  therefore  endorsed  the  Saratoga  Platform,  at  the  same 
time  condemning  the  waste  of  public  money  by  the  Repub- 
lican Party,  its  attempts  by  means  of  sectional  legislation  to 
revive  old  animosities,  its  defiance  of  the  people's  will  and  of 
its  own  interest  in  matters  of  revenue  reform.     Roswell 

77 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

P.  Flower  was  endorsed  as  Democratic  candidate  for  the 
governorship  of  New  York;  Fassett,  the  Republican  candi- 
date, condemned.  Flower  was  elected,  and  the  following 
year  (1892),  Democratic  victory  having  crowned  the  Presi- 
dential Ceimpaign,  the  Club  at  once  arranged  for  a  reception 
in  honor  of  the  President  and  Vice-President  elect,  Grover 
Cleveland  and  Adlai  E.  Stevenson,  to  take  place  on  Novem- 
ber 10, 1892. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  Lotos  Club,  founded  in  1870 
for  the  promotion  of  art  and  letters,  found  itself  temporarily 
without  a  home.  With  characteristic  hospitality,  the  Man- 
hattan Club  on  May  i  extended  club  courtesies  to  its  mem- 
bers, as  it  had  previously  (April  13)  extended  them  to  the 
Alpha  Delta  Phi. 

The  grave  political  issue  of  the  tariff  question,  brought 
about  by  the  McKinley  Act  of  1890,  unsatisfactory  even  to 
those  who  had  passed  it,  excited  in  1894  strong  factional  and 
national  feeling,  which  on  May  24  found  expression  in  the 
Manhattan  Club  in  a  resolution  framed  by  Mr.  Walter  Stan- 
ton. It  voiced  the  Club's  disapproval  of  the  tariff  blunders, 
which,  it  held,  were  responsible  for  the  sufferings  of  the 
memorable  winter  of  1893-94. 

The  Club  took  that  occasion  also  to  pledge  itself  anew  to 
the  principle  of  a  tariff  for  revenue  only.  It  urged  the  pas- 
sage of  a  revenue  reform  bill,  declared  that  every  hour  of 
delay  was  a  crime  against  the  people,  and  condemned  the 
proposed  passage  of  an  income  tax  as  unnecessary,  unjust, 
undemocratic,  and  in  violation  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States. 

The  Club  decreed  that  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent 
every  Democratic  member  of  Congress. 

In  the  following  October,  again  at  the  motion  of  Mr. 
Stanton,  a  campaign  committee  of  fifty  was  appointed  by  the 
president,  among  its  members  being  Walter  Stanton,  Wil- 
liam C.  Whitney,  Thomas  F.  Ryan,  Perry  Belmont,  John  T. 

78 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

Agnew,  Theodore  W.  Myers,  H.  R.  Ickelheimer,  Joseph  J. 
O'Donohue,  John  D.  Crimmins,  Henry  C.  Miner,  C.  F. 
Dieterich,  Randolph  Guggenheimer,  Robert  Maclay  Bull, 
John  C.  Calhoun,  J.  D.  Archbold,  William  Butler  Duncan, 
Elijah  P.  Smith,  Commodore  Elbridge  T.  Gerry,  Charles  J. 
Canda,  Charles  A.  DuVivier,  George  Alexander  Brown, 
Daniel  K.  Bayne,  Joseph  C.  Hendrix,  Amos  F.  Eno,  Jacob 
Ruppert,  Jr.,  John  R.  Bennett,  Louis  V.  Bell,  George  C. 
Clausen,  Calvin  S.  Brice,  John  C.  Graham,  and  Lloyd  S. 
Bryce. 

In  keeping  with  these  movements  was  the  reception,  pro- 
posed by  the  Club,  October  4,  to  be  g^ven  in  honor  of  the 
Empire  State  nominees. 

A  ladies*  reception,  of  which  no  memorial  seems  to  have 
lingered  in  Club  records,  was  given,  April  11,  1895;  and 
again  we  find  the  Club,  on  May  24, 1895,  extending  its  hospi- 
talities to  Democratic  editors  and  their  wives,  and,  on  No- 
vember 14,  to  the  commissioned  officers  of  the  United  States 
men-of-war  in  New  York  Harbor  for  a  fortnight. 

A  vote  of  thanks  was  extended,  April  9,  1896,  to  Thomas 
B.  Clarke  for  services  in  connection  with  the  loan  exhibition 
of  pictures  arranged  by  the  Club. 

The  Club,  consistent  in  its  principles,  believed  the  cause  of 
the  business  stagnation  of  1896  to  be  the  agitation  in  favor 
of  the  free  coinage  of  silver.  Accordingly,  on  May  28,  1896, 
it  passed  resolutions  endorsing  "one  single  monetary  stand- 
ard of  value  to  be  used  in  the  purchase  of  merchandise  and 
payment  of  debts,  as  the  imperative  demand  of  all  interested 
in  secure  and  prosperous  domestic  and  international  com- 
merce." The  Club  thereafter  denounced  all  agitation  in 
favor  of  the  enactment  of  laws  for  the  unlimited  coinage  of 
silver  at  any  ratio,  or  the  adoption  in  any  form  of  a  double 
standard  of  value  in  money,  and  proclaimed  its  adherence  ta 
the  gold-dollar  standard  of  money  value  as  the  only  safe 
basis  for  all  our  foreign  and  domestic  transactions. 

79 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

It  held  that  the  coming  Democratic  Convention,  to  be 
held  that  year,  should  endorse  the  administration  of  Presi- 
dent Cleveland  and  declare  a  gold  basis  for  sound  money  to 
be  the  one  prominent  issue  at  the  coming  election. 

On  May  lo,  1898,  a  meeting  was  called  in  celebration  of 
Dewey's  victory  in  Manila  Bay.  That  same  year  (October  3) 
a  reception  was  given  to  Augustus  Van  Wyck,  Democratic 
candidate  for  governor  of  New  York. 

Again,  February  9, 1899,  Grover  Cleveland  was  requested 
to  accept  life  membership  without  payment. 

In  the  death  of  Mr.  Coudert,  which  took  place  at  Wash- 
ington, December  20,  1903,  the  Club  lost  one  of  its  most 
valued  members.  In  the  resolutions  drawn  up  as  expressive 
of  Club  sympathy  and  appreciation,  we  read  of  his  having 
been  an  active  and  conspicuous  member  of  the  Club,  an 
honored  and  influential  friend  of  the  organization,  taking 
always  a  profound  interest  in  its  welfare,  and  rendering 
faithful  and  efficient  service  in  its  behalf. 

Mr.  Coudert  joined  the  Club  on  December  3,  1874,  and 
continued  to  be  an  active  and  conspicuous  member  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death,  serving  as  president  from  1889  until  1899, 
when  he  voluntarily  resigned,  having  previously  done  duty 
on  the  Board  of  Managers  in  1880,  and  as  vice-president  for 
nine  years,  from  1880  to  1889.  As  president  he  displayed  the 
greatest  zeal  and  ability,  evoking  the  lasting  gratitude  of  his 
fellow-members.  With  Chauncey  M.  Depew,  Mr.  Coudert 
shared  great  popularity  with  business  men.  He  earned  his 
own  way  through  Columbia  College,  then  at  Park  and 
Church  Streets,  doing  newspaper  work.  He  was  a  good 
racontetw,  full  of  wit  and  humor,  possessing  a  clear,  musical 
voice,  all  of  which  gave  him  great  acceptance  as  an  after-din- 
ner speaker.  He  was  the  recipient  of  decorations  from  both 
France  and  Italy,  the  former  bestowing  the  insignia  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor  upon  him.  A  famous  Manhattan  private 
dinner  was  the  one  given  by  him  to  the  Board  of  Managers 

80 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

on  the  eve  of  his  sailing  to  act  as  counsel  in  the  Behring  Sea 
difficulty.  Mr.  Coudert  thus  was  president  almost  the  entire 
time  of  the  sojourn  of  the  Club  in  the  Stewart  house,  Judge 
Truax  only  succeeding  him  in  1899,  the  date  of  its  removal 
to  its  present  quarters,  an  account  of  which,  and  the  events 
leading  thereto,  we  shall  hear  in  the  coming  chapter. 

But  first  reference  must  be  made  to  two  members  of  note, 
prominent  in  the  Club  in  the  Stewart  era.  One  was  that 
enthusiastic  Democrat,  Christopher  C.  Baldwin,  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  Club  and  former  president  of  the  Louisville  and 
Nashville  Railroad,  who  rallied  the  Democracy  after  Han- 
cock's defeat  and  issued  the  call  to  the  famous  Cooper 
Union  meeting  that  led  to  the  election  of  Cleveland;  the 
other,  J.  Edward  Simmons,  president  of  the  Fourth  National 
Bank,  an  office  to  which  he  was  elected  when  he  owned  no 
stock,  knew  no  director,  and  had  never  been  in  the  bank. 


CHAPTER  THE  TWELFTH 

The  Stewart  House  a  "White  Elephant" — Removal  to  Cheaper  Quar- 
ters Imperative — Hunting  for  a  New  Club-house — The  Final 
Choice — A  Happy  Solution. 

HE  Club,  as  we  have  seen,  moved  into  the 
Stewart  house  in  1890.  At  the  time  there 
was  a  committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  J. 
Sergeant  Cram  and  L.  Holme,  appointed 
(February  20,  1890)  to  consider  the  sale  of 
the  Benkard  house  for  $75,000.  On  June  9, 
1892,  an  appropriation  of  $15,000  was  made 
from  the  reserve  fund  of  the  Club  to  discharge  its  indebt- 
edness. 

From  that  date  onward  financial  affairs  seem  to  have  be- 
come troublesome.  The  expenses  of  keeping  up  such  an 
establishment  proved  to  be  enormous,  since  on  January  11, 
1894,  we  find  the  Club  disturbed  over  its  electric-light  bill. 
In  spite  of  all  efforts  to  reduce  the  expense,  the  bills  had 
doubled  and  redoubled  until  the  one  under  discussion 
reached  the  sum  of  $9500.  As  no  compromise  could  be  ar- 
rived at,  the  Club  decided  to  use  gas  exclusively,  and  to  make 
inquiries  about  the  practicability  of  procuring  for  the  Club 
an  electric  plant  of  its  own. 

In  February  of  that  year  an  amendment  to  increase  the 

82 


The  Ste^"''*  TT..>itr.  ^ 
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Victor  J.  Dowllng 


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fc-5 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

dues  fifty  dollars  semi-annually  was  carried,  and  on  Decem- 
ber 5,  1895,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  plan 
to  discharge  the  indebtedness  of  the  Club;  another,  of  five 
members,  at  the  same  time,  being  asked  to  inquire  into  the 
Club's  rights  and  privileges  regarding  the  lease  of  the 
Stewart  house,  and  to  look  about  for  a  more  suitable  resi- 
dence. 

The  Club,  December  10,  adopted  a  motion  to  extend  an 
invitation  of  membership  to  the  members  of  the  Democratic 
Club,  without  pa5mient  of  an  initiation  fee,  provided  one 
hundred  joined  in  a  body. 

In  January,  1899,  the  question  of  the  Stewart  house  lease 
was  taken  up  in  earnest,  the  Board  of  Managers  holding  a 
meeting  on  the  twelfth,  with  the  result  that  a  committee  of 
three,  including  the  President,  with  power  to  increase  its 
number  if  expedient,  was  appointed  to  confer  with  the 
owners  of  the  Stewart  house  and  endeavor  to  obtain  a  sur- 
render of  the  lease,  and  also  to  look  about  for  another  club- 
house. 

The  managers  reported  that  the  experience  of  the  two 
previous  years  had  shown  the  revenues  of  the  Club  to  be 
inadequate  to  its  expenses,  and  that  they  had,  in  conse- 
quence, devised  a  plan  for  obtaining  voluntary  subscriptions 
to  bonds  for  the  purpose  of  liquidating  the  Club's  indebted- 
ness; and,  to  this  end,  a  committee  had  been  appointed  to 
dispose  of  the  lease  of  the  Stewart  house  and  secure  new 
quarters — members,  according  to  Article  II,  Section  14,  to 
be  assessed  fifty  dollars  to  pay  the  Club's  indebtedness. 

The  Board  of  Managers,  composed  of  Mr.  Coudert,  Mr. 
Gilbert,  and  Judge  Truax,  announced,  February  6, 1899,  that 
they  had  successfully  negotiated  with  the  owners  of  the 
Stewart  house,  who  agreed  to  cancel  the  lease  after  the  fol- 
lowing May.  Upon  mature  reflection  and  careful  con- 
sideration, it  had  been  decided  to  take  the  premises  of  the 
University  Club,  on  the  corner  of  Madison  Avenue  and 

83 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

Twenty-sixth  Street,  from  that  date,  at  a  rental  of  $24,000 
per  annum,  free  from  taxes.  In  the  opinion  of  the  Board,  it 
was  plain  that  the  enormous  expenses  incident  to  the 
Stewart  house  could  not  be  maintained — a  fact  by  this  time 
universally  conceded  by  the  Club. 

The  premises  of  the  University  Club  were  considered  a 
great  improvement  as  to  location,  convenience,  and  comfort. 
The  expenses  would  be  moderate  enough  to  permit  of  a 
reduction  in  the  annual  dues  from  $100  to  $75. 

"Resignations  have  thus  far  been  few,"  the  committee 
reported,  "while  the  payment  of  assessments  has  been,  in 
promptness  and  cordiality,  beyond  our  expectations.  But 
no  effort  in  the  way  of  judicious  economy  or  improvement  in 
actual  or  prospective  conditions  can  maintain  the  high 
standard  of  the  Manhattan  Club  without  the  continued  and 
generous  co-operation  of  our  members.  If  they  believe  that 
the  Manhattan  Club  has  been  in  the  past  a  useful  instru- 
mentality for  the  promotion  of  sound  Democratic  principles, 
they  may,  with  scarcely  an  effort,  place  its  success  in  the 
future  beyond  any  question.  The  future  is  in  their  hands. 
The  Club  has  survived  political  defeat,  financial  depression, 
and  party  dissensions ;  it  has  always  been  firm  and  zealous  in 
the  maintenance  of  Democratic  principles,  and  its  influence 
has  been  felt  wherever  these  principles  were  imperilled.  It 
now  needs  only  the  ssime  loyal  support  that  it  has  heretofore 
received  to  assure  it  a  useful  and  brilliant  career." 

So  satisfactory  appears  to  have  been  the  response  to  this, 
that  a  statement  was  issued,  January  16,  1899,  showing  that 
the  finances  of  the  Club  had  weathered  all  storms  and 
showed  a  strong  balance. 

In  the  latter  part  of  May,  1899,  the  Club  left  the  Stewart 
house,  and  for  something  over  a  month  was  the  recipient  of 
courtesies  from  other  New  York  City  clubs.  July  15  of  that 
year  it  took  possession  of  its  present  quarters. 

There  is  still  in  existence  a  record  of  the  first  bar-check 

84 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

issued.  It  bore  the  signature  of  Judge  C.  H.  Truax,  called 
for  twenty  cents,  and  was  marked  "A-1080,  July  15,  1899." 
The  first  wine-check  was  made  out,  July  14,  1899,  the  day 
before  taking  possession,  on  an  order  from  the  Moving  Com- 
mittee, composed  of  Augustine  Monroe,  Theodore  Rich,  and 
Thomas  R.  Fisher.  It  was  marked  "D-i,"  and  called  for  one 
quart  No.  240  (old  rye),  $1.75,  and  two  quarts  No.  427 
(Poland  water),  $0.40,  making  a  total  of  $2.15,  and  was 
signed  "A.  Monroe." 

The  officers  at  the  time  of  the  removal  were  Judge  Truax, 
president;  John  Hone,  vice-president;  Sylvester  J.  O' Sulli- 
van, treasurer;  David  B.  Gilbert,  secretary.  On  the  House 
Committee  were  William  S.  Rodie,  John  Hunter,  Jr.,  and 
Pierre  F.  MacDonald,  all  of  whom  continued  in  office  until 
1906. 

The  finances  of  the  Club  from  the  day  of  its  removal  ad- 
justed themselves  satisfactorily,  and  continued  along  the 
line  of  prosperity;  for  on  March  19,  1903,  we  read  of  the 
treasurer  triumphantly  announcing  that  the  Club  had  not 
a  dollar  of  indebtedness,  but  rather  $46,000  surplus,  as  a  re- 
sult of  living  in  a  club-house  suitable  to  its  revenues.  "We 
have  money  in  our  boots,"  said  Sylvester  J.  O'SuUivzm. 
From  then  onward  until  the  present  day  we  hear  no  more  of 
financial  entanglements. 

On  January  13,  1910,  Judge  Victor  J.  Dowling,  president, 
stated  that  it  was  the  Club's  wish  to  secure  a  site  on  which 
to  erect  a  suitable  building  for  its  permanent  home.  Men- 
tion of  plans  for  this  purchase  of  Club  property  was  made 
January  12,  191 1,  and  eventually  the  present  site  of  the  Club 
was  purchased  for  $500,000. 


CHAPTER  THE  THIRTEENTH 


Final  Proceedings— The  New  Century— Purchase  of  a  Permanent 
Home— Celebration  of  the  Club's  Semi-Centenary  under  Happy 
Auspices. 

HE  Club  in  1900  celebrated  its  Thirty-fifth 
Anniversary  by  a  banquet,  and  gave  its  fa- 
mous dinner,  January  10  of  that  year,  to 
Judge  Truax,  in  recognition  of  his  services 
toward  the  restoration  of  its  prestige  and 
prosperity. 

Mr.  W.  S.  Rodie,  December  12, 1901,  pro- 
posed a  reunion  of  non-resident  members  scattered  through- 
out thirty-eight  States.  The  purpose  he  had  in  mind,  he  Sciid, 
was  an  attempt  to  revive  the  interest  of  the  people  in  the 
fundamental  doctrines  underlying  our  Democratic  form  of 
government.  He  held  that,  since  the  Manhattan  Club  had 
been  founded,  at  a  critical  period  of  the  nation's  history,  for 
the  advancement  of  these  Democratic  principles,  it  was  an 
appropriate  time,  by  such  a  reunion,  to  counteract  the  effects 
of  the  policies  of  the  Republican  Party,  then  so  subversive  of 
those  same  principles  and  doctrines. 

The  Club  agreeing,  Washington's  Birthday  of  1902  was 
chosen  for  the  reunion,  Messrs.  W.  S.  Rodie,  John  Hone, 
John  G.  Carlisle,  and  Perry  Belmont  being  named  a  commit- 

86 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

tee  to  arrange  for  the  guests,  and  the  secretary,  treasurer, 
and  House  Committee  being  authorized  to  solicit  subscrip- 
tions to  defray  the  expenses.  The  reunion  was  a  great 
success. 

"Of  all  the  many  attractive  and  pleasant  banquets  given  at 
the  Manhattan  Club,"  says  Mr.  Dufour,  in  his  interesting 
narrative,  "one  of  the  most  notable  and  historical  was  that 
given  by  Mr.  John  B.  McDonald  to  his  engineers  on  the  com- 
pletion of  the  Subway.  It  was  remarkable  in  every  way. 
Mr.  McDonald,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  the  famous 
builder  of  the  Subway.  The  table  was  profusely  decorated 
with  all  the  necessary  adjuncts  of  an  earth-digger's  trade. 
It  represented  a  diminutive  Subway.  The  menus  were  works 
of  art,  showing  the  best  skill  of  the  engraver.  Each  menu 
contained  pictures  of  the  most  difficult  obstacles  that  the  en- 
gineer encounters.  On  the  front  cover  was  a  photograph  of 
Mr.  McDonald,  and  the  name,  in  gold,  of  the  engineer  in 
charge  of  that  section.  Mr.  McDonald,  by  his  amiability, 
gentleness,  and  thorough  good  nature,  had  won  for  himself 
the  affection  of  his  brother-members  of  the  Club.  Men  of  all 
professions  and  callings  were  at  this  dinner,  and  vied  with 
one  another  in  paying  tribute  to  the  man  whose  genius 
created  the  means  of  relief  which  New  York  had  been  so 
long  crying  for." 

Other  affairs  of  these  later  years  have  been  the  subscrip- 
tion dinner  to  the  justices  of  the  Appellate  Division  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  May  9,  1908;  a  reception  to  John  A.  Dix, 
October  4,  1910;  a  dinner  to  Governor  Dix,  March  23,  1911; 
and  a  dinner  to  Senator  O'Gorman,  April  22, 191 1. 

On  September  14,  1901,  President  McKinley  died  from 
the  effects  of  a  wound  received  at  the  hand  of  an  assassin  at 
the  Buffalo  Exposition,  September  6.  The  Manhattan  Club 
at  once  passed  resolutions,  drawn  up  by  Charles  W.  Dayton, 
expressive  of  its  horror  at  the  unprovoked  tragedy,  and  of 
appreciation  of  Mr.  McKinley's  services  to  his  country,  of 

87 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

his  unblemished  character,  of  his  personal  and  official  life, 
"so  typical,"  said  Mr.  Dayton,  "of  Lincoln's  immortal  aphor- 
ism, *With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all.'  " 

The  Club  further  expressed  its  deep  sympathy  for  Mrs. 
McKinley,  and  an  attested  copy  of  the  resolutions  was  or- 
dered to  be  sent  her,  the  club-house  to  be  draped  in  black  for 
thirty  days. 

In  1904  Democratic  hopes  revived  in  the  nomination  of 
Parker  and  Davis.  The  Club  at  once  appointed  a  committee 
of  one  hundred  to  aid  in  campaign  work,  and  a  reception, 
proposed  September  29,  was  arranged  in  honor  of  Judge 
Parker  for  October  5, 1904. 

In  1908  Judge  Parker  became  vice-president  of  the  Club, 
Morgan  J.  O'Brien  then  being  president;  and  in  19 10  Judge 
Parker  succeeded  him,  Charles  W.  Dayton  becoming  vice- 
president.  During  Judge  Parker's  term  as  vice-president  the 
Club  passed  resolutions  regarding  the  Democratic  League, 
and  he,  seconded  by  Mr.  McDonald,  proposed  that  the 
League  be  invited  to  hold  future  meetings  at  the  Manhattan 
Club,  a  copy  of  the  resolution  to  be  sent  Hon.  Thomas  M. 
Osborne  at  Albany. 

Judge  Parker,  seconded  by  Mr.  O'Sullivan,  further  pro- 
posed that  the  Club,  as  an  expression  of  its  sympathy  with 
the  purposes  of  the  Democratic  League  organized  at  Sara- 
toga on  September  9  and  10,  arrange  for  a  subscription  din- 
ner to  its  executive  committee,  a  committee  of  five  to  be 
appointed  by  the  President  to  attend  to  the  details.  At  the 
same  meeting  Mr.  O'Sullivan,  seconded  by  Judge  Parker, 
proposed  that  the  hospitalities  of  the  Club  be  extended  by 
formal  invitation  to  the  officers  representing  foreign  navies 
and  that  of  the  United  States,  and  to  all  foreign  visitors  to 
the  Hudson-Fulton  celebration. 

It  was  Judge  Victor  J.  Dowling,  president  of  the  Club 
from  191 1  to  1914,  when  the  present  president,  Mr.  Philip  J. 
Britt,  was  elected,  who  stated  at  a  regular  meeting,  January 

88 


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Morgan  J.  u  Jiineii  t^ACii  ueir;^  p£ 

Tyf'  I  fir  *«•'«•• 

Philip  J.  Britt 


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FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

13,  19 10,  that  it  was  the  Club's  desire  to  purchase  a  site  on 
which  to  build  a  club-house  "suitable  to  the  perpetuation  of 
the  best  traditions  of  the  Democratic  Party" — a  desire  the 
more  justified  since  it  had  been  stated  on  January  16,  1899, 
that  the  Club  had  weathered  its  financial  perils,  and  on 
May  19,  1903,  the  treasurer  had  declared  the  Club  free  of 
all  indebtedness,  with  a  $46,000  surplus.  Eventually  it  was 
decided  to  buy  the  site  of  the  present  club-house,  to-day 
beautified  anew  for  the  Club's  semi-centennial. 

We  thus  have  seen  the  Manhattan  Club,  in  the  fifty  years 
of  its  existence,  progress  through  stress  and  storm,  in  spite 
of  misfortune  and  discouragement,  towards  a  permanent 
home,  the  principles  of  Democracy  and  their  preservation  its 
incentive  to  continuous  existence.  To-day  its  records  show 
that  5473  Democrats  have,  in  these  fifty  years,  been  carried 
on  its  roster.  Of  these,  914  have  passed  beyond  discussions 
of  Democracy  or  enjoyment  of  "those  certain  conditions" 
which  have  bound  together  the  members  of  their  Club ;  906 
have  dropped  out,  and  2404  resigned.  To-day  the  actual 
membership  is  1249. 

An  interesting  coincidence  in  the  history  of  the  Club  is  the 
fact  that  it  began  its  existence  with  a  Democratic  President 
after  Republican  supremacy;  and  to-day,  its  Fiftieth  Anni- 
versary, Democracy  again  occupies  the  "Seats  of  the 
Mighty"  in  the  National  Government. 


CHAPTER  THE  FOURTEENTH 

The  Club  Library— Mr.  James  Dunne,  Librarian  of  the  Manhattan 
Club,  recalls  Literary  History— Gifts— Purchases— Rare  Volumes 

HE  history  of  the  Manhattan  Club  would 
indeed  be  incomplete  without  mention  of 
its  library.  The  number  of  volumes  may 
not  be  as  large  as  in  some  other  libraries, 
but  the  editions  are  very  choice.  Mr.  James 
Dunne  has  prepared  the  following  account 
of  the  library's  growth,  a  reading  of  which 
will  lead  to  a  wider  appreciation  of  its  worth. 


The  Committee  on  Library  believes  that  a  brief  reference 
to  the  Club  library,  and  the  books  that  fill  its  shelves,  may 
bring  to  the  members  a  realization  of  the  intellectual  treat 
that  is  afforded  them  in  their  moments  of  leisure.  Unlike  the 
old  English  clubs, — of  which  John  Aubrey,  writing  in  1689, 
said,  "We  now  use  the  word  Clubbe  for  a  sodality  in  a  tav- 
ern,"— the  modern  club,  organized  for  the  promotion  of 
good-fellowship,  as  well  as  for  social  and  literary  intercourse 
among  its  members,  has  come  to  regard  its  library  as  one  of 
its  indispensable  accessories. 

Founded  in  1865,  the  Manhattan  Club  numbered  among 
its  organizers  many  of  the  leading  authors,  statesmen,  pub- 

90 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

licists,  journalists,  artists,  and  literary  men  of  that  period; 
and  through  their  culture,  their  literary  tastes,  and  their 
broad-mindedness  in  the  discussion  of  public  questions,  the 
Club  gradually  became  a  social  and  literary  centre  that  drew 
to  its  membership  the  leaders  in  the  public  and  intellectual 
thought  of  the  day.  As  a  consequence  the  Club  library  was 
started,  and  thereafter,  as  well  by  frequent  purchases  as  by 
voluntary  donations  on  the  part  of  the  members,  there  were 
brought  together  a  goodly  number  of  the  books  that  hold  the 
highest  place  among  works  of  classical  and  standard  liter- 
ature. Many  of  the  books  so  purchased  and  donated  will  be 
found  on  the  library  shelves  to-day.  After  the  Club's  re- 
moval from  the  Stewart  mansion  to  Twenty-sixth  Street, 
the  library  was  greatly  neglected:  the  books,  in  respect  of 
binding,  were  allowed  to  become  unsightly ;  and,  in  respect 
of  authorship  and  subject-matter,  were  indiscriminately 
scattered  upon  the  library  shelves.  In  the  fall  of  1902,  how- 
ever, the  Board  of  Governors  appointed  a  new  Library  Com- 
mittee of  seven  members,  and  instructed  them  not  only  to 
examine  into  the  condition  of  the  library  and  its  needs,  but 
to  submit  a  report  on  these  subjects,  coupled  with  such 
recommendation  respecting  the  library's  future  as  to  the 
committee  might  seem  expedient.  So  empowered,  the  new 
committee  immediately  entered  upon  their  work,  and  in  due 
course  submitted  their  report  and  recommendations  to  the 
governors,  who,  in  November,  1902,  approved  of  them,  and 
generously  appropriated  for  the  uses  of  the  committee  the 
sum  of  five  hundred  dollars,  "to  be  expended,  in  their  discre- 
tion," in  connection  with  the  improvement  of  the  library. 
Possessed  of  this  appropriation,  the  committee  at  once  ad- 
dressed themselves  to  the  work  of  bringing  order  out  of 
chaos,  and  to  that  end  weeded  out  quite  a  number  of  the 
books  that  were  deemed  worthless  for  library  purposes,  and, 
selecting  some  three  hundred  books  that  were  deemed 
worthy  of  rebinding,  had  them  rebound  in  buckram.    On 

91 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

their  return  they  were  rearranged  under  cognate  heads  and 
replaced  on  the  library  shelves.  Thus  brightened  up  and 
greatly  improved,  the  library  became  a  matter  of  interest  to 
the  members,  who,  responding  to  the  committee's  zeal  in 
continuing  the  work  of  improvement,  made  many  promises 
— some  of  which  were  kept — to  donate  standard  works  of 
literature  and  fill  the  open  spaces  that  the  shelves  disclosed. 

In  1904,  what  with  purchases  and  donations,  the  books  had 
so  increased  in  number  that  the  committee  found  itself  un- 
able to  arrange  them  in  the  book-cases  then  at  their  disposal. 
These  book-cases,  beautifully  carved  and  of  great  value,  had 
been  brought  from  the  Stewart  mansion,  but  for  the  practical 
uses  of  a  club  library  they  were  wholly  inadequate.  Recog- 
nizing this  fact,  the  Committee  on  Library  made  a  further 
report  to  the  governors,  urging  the  sale  of  the  cases  and  the 
installation  in  their  stead  of  the  Globe- Wernicke  Company 
system  of  "units,"  as  being  the  most  serviceable  for  the  pur- 
poses of  a  club  library.  Yielding  to  the  committee's  rec- 
ommendations, the  governors  authorized  the  sale  of  the 
Stewart  cases,  and  to  the  proceeds  derived  from  such  sale 
generously  added  an  appropriation  large  enough  to  warrant 
the  laying  of  a  hardwood  floor  and  the  installation  of  the 
beautiful  book-cases  that  now  adorn  the  library  of  the  Club. 

With  the  new  floor  duly  completed,  the  new  cases  duly  in- 
stalled, and  the  putting  of  the  room  in  complete  order,  the 
committee  at  once  proceeded  to  replace  the  books  upon  the 
shelves  according  to  the  following  arrangement:  Case  A: 
Poetry  and  Drama.  Case  B:  General  Literature.  Case 
C:  Essays,  Speeches,  etc.  Case  D:  Fiction  and  Romance. 
Case  E :  History,  Memoirs,  Biographies,  etc.  Case  F :  Bound 
Volumes  of  Magazines.  Case  G:  Encyclopedias,  Books  of 
Reference,  etc.  This  arrangement  was  determined  upon  in 
order  to  bring  together  in  the  same  cases  books  bearing  upon 
cognate  topics,  and  thus  enable  members  to  locate  easily  the 
particular  book  or  books  of  which  they  might  be  in  search. 

92 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

Having  determined  upon  this  arrangement,  the  commit- 
tee proceeded  to  weed  out  such  books  as,  in  the  judgment 
of  its  members,  seemed  useless  and  out  of  date,  and  thus 
to  make  room  for  recent  editions  of  books  that  were  deemed 
vital  in  literature,  science,  and  art.  Among  the  books  so 
weeded  out  and  put  aside  were  city  directories,  reports  of  the 
comptroller,  reports  on  water  supply,  reports  of  chief  engi- 
neers, college  and  university  catalogues,  and  others,  all  of 
which,  though  seldom  used,  were  very  bulky  and  occupied  a 
large  amount  of  shelf  space,  which,  the  committee  thought, 
could  be  used  for  the  housing  of  such  books  as  would  appeal 
more  strongly  to  the  members  of  the  Club. 

With  the  displacing  of  these  bulky  books,  the  committee 
found  itself  confronted  with  the  problem  of  empty  shelves, 
the  unfilled  spaces  of  which  were  sufficient  to  accommodate 
some  five  hundred  volumes.  To  meet  this  emergency  the 
committee  appealed  to  the  generosity  of  the  members.  The 
appeal  was  not  in  vain,  as  many  of  the  members  responded 
promptly  with  generous  contributions  of  money  and  of 
books.  Prominent  among  the  members  responding  to  the 
committee's  call  by  way  of  cash  contributions  and  donations 
of  books  were  Sylvester  J.  O' Sullivan  (since  deceased), 
Frederick  B.  Tilghman,  John  Lynn,  Thomas  F.  Gilroy,  Jr., 
J.  C.  McCoy,  Lee  Kohns,  Hon.  Francis  M.  Scott,  Edwin  H. 
Denby,  James  Dunne,  David  B.  Gilbert  (since  deceased), 
and  Joseph  M.  Byrne.  Due  to  their  generous  giving,  few 
imiilled  spaces  will  be  found  in  the  library  shelves  to-day. 

Assembled  as  they  have  been  for  the  Club  members,  the 
books  in  the  library  deserve  a  passing  notice.  While,  as  al- 
ready shown  by  the  arrangement  of  the  books  in  respect  of 
subject-matter,  no  branch  of  classical  or  general  literature 
has  been  neglected,  the  committee  desires  to  have  it  known 
that  in  respect  of  anthologies,  encyclopedias,  and  works  of 
general  reference  the  Club  is  peculiarly  fortunate  in  its  col- 
lection. 

93 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

Among  the  Anthologies  will  be  found :  "The  World's  Best 
Classics,"  fifty  volumes;  "An  English  Garner,"  twelve  vol- 
umes; "The  World's  Best  Literature,"  thirty-two  volumes; 
"The  Universal  Anthology,"  thirty-two  volumes;  "The 
Bibliophile  Library,"  thirty  volumes;  and  "American  Liter- 
ature," twelve  volumes.  Into  the  pages  of  these  anthologies 
men  of  business  with  but  few  moments'  leisure  may  casually 
dip,  find,  and,  finding,  commit  to  memory  not  only  the  wise 
and  witty  apothegms  of  all  the  ages,  but 

"quoted  odes,  and  jewels  five-words-long. 
That  on  the  stretch'd  forefinger  of  all  Time 
Sparkle  forever" ; 

and,  so  finding  and  treasuring,  return  to  their  daily  avoca- 
tions, wiser  and  better  men. 

In  Encyclopedias  the  Club  possesses  The  Encyclopaedia 
Britannica;  The  International  Encyclopedia,  The  Catholic 
Encyclopedia,  The  Jewish  Encyclopedia,  The  English  En- 
cyclopedia, and  others.  To  these  treasure-houses  of  univer- 
sal knowledge  the  student,  the  scholar,  and  the  man  of 
business  may  repair,  and  in  condensed  form,  on  any  given 
subject,  obtain  the  required  information  that  has  been  gath- 
ered for  him  by  acknowledged  masters  in  their  respective 
fields  of  thought. 

The  browsing  student  can  spend  his  leisure  hours  in  the 
perusal  of  "Notes  and  Queries,"  one  hundred  and  fifty  vol- 
umes; "Punch,"  one  hundred  and  fifty  volumes;  or  "Pepys's 
Diary,"  twenty  volumes;  or  he  can  reread  the  fascinating 
stories  of  Burton's  "Arabian  Nights,"  sixteen  volumes,  or 
other  works  of  like  interest. 

If  Poetry  interests  him,  he  can  commune  with  "The 
British  Poets,"  one  hundred  and  fifty  volumes;  if  "Byronic 
power  and  gloom"  impress  him,  he  can  read  his  favorite  poet 
in  two  editions  of  eighteen  and  fifteen  volumes  respectively; 
or  he  can  turn  to  Goldsmith  in  twelve  volumes;  to  Browning, 

94 


Smith  M.  Weed 


umes:  "I 


us;  or 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

ten  volumes;  to  Poe,  eight  volumes;  to  Longfellow,  twelve 
volumes;  or  to  Bryant,  Holmes,  Whittier,  and  Emerson  in 
twenty  volumes. 

If  the  Drama  calls  him,  he  will  find  Shakespeare  in  several 
different  editions,  and  "Marlowe  of  the  mighty  line"  he  will 
find  in  the  worthy  company  of  Ben  Jonson,  Massinger  and 
Ford,  Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  as  also  the  somewhat  repre- 
hensible Wycherley. 

History,  Memoirs,  and  Biography  are  adequately  repre- 
sented; among  Essays  and  Speeches  will  be  found  Burke, 
Carlyle,  and  Macaulay ;  while  in  Fiction  and  Romance,  Scott, 
Fielding,  Smollett,  Balzac,  Dumas,  Richardson,  Thackeray, 
Dickens,  Cooper,  Meredith,  Stevenson,  Kipling,  and  others 
make  a  splendid  showing  in  their  chosen  fields. 

In  browsing  among  the  books,  the  bibliophile  here  and 
there  will  run  across  a  bibliographical  rarity,  such  as  "The 
Turkish  Spy  in  Paris,"  163 7-1 682,  in  seven  volumes;  "The 
Attic  Nights"  of  Aulus  Gellius,  three  volumes;  and  a  reprint 
in  facsimile  (1593  edition)  of  "Venus  and  Adonis,"  "The 
Rape  of  Lucrece,"  "The  Passionate  Pilgrim,"  "A  Lover's 
Complaint,"  "Pericles,"  and  the  Sonnets. 

As  a  room  the  library  is  delightful.  Fronting  upon  Madi- 
son Square  Park,  three  of  its  large  windows  open  on  a  bal- 
cony where  the  book-lover  may  betake  himself  and,  in  undis- 
turbed quietude,  hold  converse  with  all  that  is  great  and 
good  in  books  that  were  written  not  for  a  day,  but  for  all 
time. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  the  library  is  worthy  of  the  Manhattan 
Club,  and  the  Club  is  justly  proud  of  its  possession. 


CHAPTER  THE  FIFTEENTH 


The  Contemporary  Manhattan  Club — Meeting  of  Old  and  New — Pres- 
ent Governors  of  the  Club  and  their  Records — The  President  and 
Ex-Presidents— Prominent  Members— Some  Groups  within  the 
Club— Thirty-year  and  Older  Members  of  the  Club— Notable  Em- 
ployees. 

N  organization  is  as  old  as  its  oldest  member 
and  as  young  as  its  youngest.  But  the  two 
meet  on  the  common  ground  of  the  present 
tense.  The  one  reflects  the  other.  The 
new  keeps  fresh  the  memory  of  the  old,  car- 
ries on  the  ideals  of  the  old,  builds  upon 
II  them,  extends  their  scope,  revises  them; 
and  in  the  new  the  old  lives,  the  pioneers  of  the  earlier  day 
find,  not  their  graves,  but  their  immortality. 

The  problem  of  attacking  the  "Who  *s  Whos"  of  the  pres- 
ent Manhattan  Club  is  of  so  grave  a  nature,  freighted  as  it  is 
with  pitfalls  and  other  dangers  free  from  childlike  attributes, 
that  one  is  moved  to  summon  to  his  aid  the  tender  mercies 
of  an  anecdote  dealing  with  Mr.  George  Moore,  the  most 
famous  of  contemporary  Irish  novelists.  Upon  the  comple- 
tion and  announcement  of  his  latest  trio  of  books,  the  now 
notorious  "Hail  and  Farewell,"  dealing  mainly  with  events 
and  people  in  and  about  Dublin,  such  is  the  reverence  in 

96 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

which  these  good  folk  hold  their  great  Irishman,  so  often  has 
his  naively  truthful  pen  slashed  this  and  that  gentleman  or 
gentlewoman  in  the  past,  that  curiosity,  dread,  anxiety,  and 
every  other  fearsome  emotion  quickly  set  fire  to  the  Irish 
capital,  and  a  saying,  since  made  current,  followed  in  its 
wake:  "Half  the  people  in  Dublin  were  afraid  they  were  in 
the  book;  the  other  half,  that  they  had  been  left  out."  In 
compiling  this  history  I  am  moved  toward  giving  the  bon 
mot  a  reverse  twist:  "I  am  doubtless  paying  attention  to 
only  half  the  contemporary  lights  of  the  Manhattan  Club  at 
the  same  time  that  I  am  unwittingly  overlooking  the  other 
half— so  I  am  equally  in  dread  of  both."  However,  I  shall 
face  the  music  with  a  brave  heart,  conscious  of  impartiality. 
It  is  most  creditable  that  so  many  and  such  diversified 
natures  pursue  their  various  paths  so  peacefully  under  the 
same  roof,  seldom,  if  ever,  coming  into  collision.  It  proves 
that  discipline,  although  unseen,  has  its  firm  grip  on  one 
and  all,  and  that  the  amenities  and  courtesies  of  life  hold  a 
large  share  in  meiintaining  pleasant  and  sociable  intercourse 
among  so  many  individuals.  However,  it  is  amusing  to 
watch  the  usual  variations  from  the  general  key.  Some  are 
jolly  under  any  and  all  conditions ;  others,  morose  in  spite  of 
alluring  surroundings;  some  cire  diffident  and  seem  scarcely 
able  to  ask  for  what  they  want;  others  cry  out  their  wants  in 
stentorian  tones ;  some  are  studious  and  frequent  the  library 
daily;  others — and  their  name  is  legion — virtually  never,  or 
rarely,  come  within  its  portals;  some  are  methodical  and 
seldom  fail  to  write  out  a  check  in  their  check-book  when 
money  is  wanted;  others  take  up  a  blank  check  from  the 
office  counter,  draw  it  out  or  have  it  drawn  out,  and  then 
trust  to  luck  or  memory  to  enter  it  in  their  own  account- 
book.  The  world  is  thus  made  more  varied  by  each  indi- 
vidual who  comes  and  goes.  On  a  smaller  scale,  but  in  more 
concentrated  form,  the  general  rule  applies  to  the  Manhat- 
tcin  Club. 

97 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

The  governors  of  the  Club  are :  Harry  S.  Black,  Philip  J. 
Britt,  Lewis  J.  Conlan,  Charles  W.  Dayton,  Victor  J.  Dow- 
ling,  Ashbel  P.  Fitch,  Phoenix  Ingraham,  Frederic  Ker- 
nochan,  John  Lynn,  William  F.  McCombs,  James  A.  O' Gor- 
man, Herbert  C.  Smyth,  Albert  Tilt,  H.  K.  S.  Williams, 
William  Schramm,  and  Herbert  D.  Lounsbury. 

John  Lynn  has  been  a  life  member  since  1892.  He  is  espe- 
cially noted  for  a  fine  munificence,  it  being  claimed  by  some 
that  he  is  the  most  generous  human  alive.  William  F.  Mc- 
Combs, chairman  of  the  Democratic  National  Committee, 
needs  no  trumpeter  to  herald  him.  He  managed  the  cam- 
paign which  resulted  in  the  election  of  President  Wilson, 
and  in  1 91 3  was  tendered  the  ambassadorship  to  France,  an 
honor  he  declined.  Judge  Lewis  J.  Conlan  is  the  first  to 
come  and  the  last  to  leave  the  club-house.  He  has  conse- 
quently been  charged  with  being  the  ex-officio  caretaker. 
The  Judge  has  been  a  member  for  twenty  years. 

Phoenix  Ingraham  deserves  very  high  credit  for  his 
exemplary  work  as  chairman  of  the  House  Committee.  A 
more  efficient  body  of  men  in  like  capacity  does  not  exist 
anywhere.  Mr.  Ingraham  is  a  life  member.  Reference  to 
Mr.  Ingraham's  father.  Judge  George  L.  Ingraham,  is  im- 
perative. Judge  Ingraham  has  been  a  member  of  the  Club 
since  1883,  and  head  of  the  Appellate  Division  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  since  1896. 

Louis  Bertschmann,  who  died  recently,  was  an  invaluable 
asset  to  the  Club.  He,  more  than  any  one  man,  was  respon- 
sible for  the  greatest  influx  of  new  members. 

Senator  James  A.  O'Gorman,  member  since  1900,  ex-jus- 
tice of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  senator  from  New  York  since 
191 1,  is  one  of  the  Club's  most  vital  figures.  Governmental 
duties  never  prevent  him  from  giving  the  Manhattan  the 
best  service  at  his  disposal. 

President  Philip  J.  Britt,  elected  to  his  present  office  in 
April,  19 14,  is,  needless  to  say,  worthy  of  the  honor  con- 

98 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

ferred  upon  him.  Much  of  the  success  of  the  recent  anni- 
versary dinner  is  due  to  him,  and,  in  general,  the  spirit  of 
progressiveness  which  permeates  the  activities  of  the  Club. 
Among  the  ex-presidents  there  are  three  living :  Morgan  J. 
O'Brien,  Alton  B.  Parker,  and  Victor  J.  Dowling. 

Judge  O'Brien,  a  member  since  1887,  and  president  from 
1908  to  1 910,  wholly  merits  the  popularity  he  enjoys.  He  is 
one  of  the  most  genial  of  mortals,  and  at  the  same  time  a 
gentleman  who,  in  spite  of  a  certain  reserve,  commands  the 
respect  and  service  of  individuals  in  every  walk  of  life.  He 
has  always  been  tireless  in  his  activities  and  self-imposed 
duties  in  behalf  of  the  Club,  and  stands  foremost  among 
the  influential  and  beneficent  factors  in  Manhattan  evolu- 
tion.   Eminent  as  a  jurist,  he  is  everybody's  friend. 

Alton  B.  Parker,  member  since  1894  and  president  from 
i9iotoi9ii,  has  been  judge  at  various  times  of  the  Supreme 
Court  and  the  Appellate  Division  and  chief  justice  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  from  which  post  he  resigned  to  accept  the 
Democratic  nomination  for  the  Presidency  in  1904.  He  has 
contributed  no  little  toward  making  the  Manhattan  Club 
what  it  is  to-day. 

Victor  J.  Dowling,  deservedly  one  of  the  most  popular  of 
Manhattanites,  president  of  the  Club  from  i9iitoi9i4,  was 
instrumental  in  the  purchase  of  the  present  building  on 
Twenty-sixth  Street.  He  is  at  the  present  time  President  of 
the  Modern  Historic  Records  Association. 

Distinguished  credit  is  due  the  Manhattan  Club  for  the 
signal  honor  of  having  on  its  roster  three  such  exceptional 
diplomats,  patriots,  and  clubmen  as  James  W.  Gerard,  am- 
bassador to  Germany,  who  has  so  tactfully  handled  the 
delicate  questions  that  have  been  brought  up  periodically 
between  Washington  and  the  Wilhelmstrasse;  Frederic  C. 
Penfield,  ambassador  to  Austria-Hungary ;  and  Francis  Bur- 
ton Harrison,  governor-general  of  the  Philippines. 

More  than  a  word  of  praise  should  be  laid  to  the  account 

99 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

of  the  body  of  men  who  did  such  yeoman  service  toward 
making  the  anniversary  banquet  and  celebration  the  phenom- 
enal success  and  famous  event  time  has  recorded  it.  The 
motive  power  which  lay  at  the  heart  of  their  endeavors  and 
which  made  those  endeavors  reach  such  envied  success  was 
unselfishness  and  a  courageous  willingness  to  serve.  I  refer 
to  the  gentlemen  who  composed  the  Anniversciry  Committee. 
Their  names  follow:  Morgan  J.  O'Brien,  chairman;  Victor  J. 
Dowling,  George  F.  Harriman,  William  R.  Hearst,  George 
L.  Ingraham,  Alexander  Konta,  Martin  W.  Littleton,  Man- 
ton  Marble,  William  F.  McCombs,  James  A.  O' Gorman, 
Alton  B.  Parker,  William  F.  Sheehan,  John  B.  Stanchfield, 
and  Thomas  F.  Vietor. 

Patrick  Francis  Murphy,  generally  considered  the  best 
after-dinner  speaker  in  this  country,  was  one  of  the  men  who 
delivered  addresses  at  the  recent  banquet. 

Among  the  prominent  members  of  the  Club  are  the  New 
York  State  Democratic  chairman,  William  Church  Osborn; 
D-Cady  Herrick,  ex-district  attorney  of  the  State,  justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court  and  the  Appellate  Division,  and  one-time 
Democratic  candidate  for  governor;  and  that  able,  learned, 
and  accomplished  international  jurist,  John  R.  Dos  Passos. 

From  the  newspaper  world  there  are  four  giants:  Frank 
I.  Cobb,  editor-in-chief  of  the  New  York  "World";  Caleb 
Van  Hamm,  managing  editor  of  all  the  Hearst  interests; 
Edward  G.  Riggs,  one  of  the  vital  sparks  of  the  old  Dana 
regime  on  the  New  York  "Sun";  and  Louis  Seibold,  of 
the  "World,"  who  enjoys  the  confidence  of  practically  all 
prominent  public  men. 

John  Quinn,  lawyer  and  art  collector,  is  a  unique  figure  in 
the  Club.  He  was  instrumental  in  the  success  of  the  now 
famous  "Irish  Players."  A  daily  visitor  is  Frederick  B. 
Tilghman,  descendant  from  an  old  and  honorable  line,  and 
prominent  on  the  Stock  Exchange.  Ex-Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor William  F.  Sheehan  is  always  in  demand,  such  is  his 

100 


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FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

popularity.  Another  favorite  is  the  widely  known  lawyer, 
Solomon  Hanford.  George  F.  Harriman,  another  lawyer 
and  old  member,  is  a  friend  of  everybody. 

The  brilliant  Edgar  Saltus  is  an  old  member  of  the  Club, 
and  makes  it  his  home  when  his  literary  occupations  and 
errant  fancies  detain  him  in  this  country. 

Special  privileges  are  allowed  to  Sylvester  J.  E.  Rawling. 
As  music  critic  of  the  "World,"  it  is  necessary  that  he  com- 
pose his  opera  criticism  late  at  night,  and  the  Club  is  kept 
open  for  that  purpose ! 

Other  famous  lawyer  members  and  frequenters  of  the 
Club  are  John  B.  Stanchfield  and  George  Gordon  Battle. 
Mr.  Stanchfield  was  formerly  Democratic  candidate  for 
governor  and  nominee  for  United  States  senator.  Mr.  Bat- 
tle at  one  time  served  as  assistant  district  attorney,  and  is  at 
present  a  law  partner  of  Senator  O'Gorman. 

Daniel  M.  Brady  is  the  election  expert  of  the  Club.  It  is 
popularly  said  of  him  that  he  can  prophesy  the  outcome  of 
any  election,  such  is  his  broad  familiarity  with  statistics.  At 
the  head  of  the  Art  Department  stands  August  Benziger. 
He  has  painted  portraits  of  Presidents  McKinley,  Roosevelt, 
and  Taft,  one  of  Senator  O'Gorman,  and,  specially  for  the 
Club,  one  of  Judge  Dowling. 

Herbert  D.  Lounsbury,  a  gentleman  of  brilliant  wit,  and 
Congressman  Jacob  A.  Cantor,  ex-president  of  the  New 
York  Senate  and  ex-president  of  Manhattan  Borough,  are 
favorites  with  all. 

J.  Henry  Haggerty  is  much  sought  after  because  of  his 
genial  ways.  So  are  Herbert  Sm3^h,  who  stands  in  the  front 
rank  of  trial  lawyers,  and  Justice  Charles  L.  Guy.  Justice 
Guy  was  elected  Supreme  Court  justice  in  1907  for  a  term  of 
fourteen  years.  General  favorites,  also,  are  those  two  gen- 
tlemen, Harry  Mollenhauer  and  Conrad  Peters,  popularly 
known  as  "Harry"  and  "Connie." 

James  Buckley,  general  passenger  agent  of  the  Erie  lines, 

lOI 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

one  of  the  ablest  and  best-known  veterans  of  the  American 
railway  service,  is  a  frequenter  of  the  Club,  as  well  as  Gen- 
eral James  B.  Burbank,  who  entered  voluntary  service  in 
1862  as  lieutenant  and  adjutant,  and  the  regular  army  in 
1864.  He  was  retired  a  major-general  in  1902.  For  fifty- 
three  years  he  served  on  the  active  list  in  all  grades,  a  gal- 
lant, accomplished,  and  meritorious  officer.  Roger  Foster, 
lawyer  and  author  of  "Foster's  Federal  Practice,"  and  for- 
merly instructor  at  Yale  University,  is  famous  for  his  splen- 
did service  in  the  improvement  of  the  tenement-house. 
Another  popular  habitue  is  Dr.  C.  J.  McGuire,  the  well- 
known  physician. 

An  old-time  and  most  popular  member  of  the  Club  is  ex- 
Senator  Watson  Carvosso  Squire.  His  public  record  is  a 
long  and  brilliant  one.  He  served  in  the  Civil  War  as  a 
beau  sabreur  and  judge-advocate-general,  commanded  the 
troop  of  sharpshooters  who  constituted  General  Sherman's 
body-guard,  and  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  colonel  "for 
gallant  and  meritorious  services."  He  was  Governor  of 
Washington  Territory,  1884-87,  and  senator  in  Congress 
from  the  State  of  Washington,  1887-97. 

Among  the  prominent  judges  are  Eugene  A.  Philbin, 
Nathan  L.  Miller,  Frank  C.  Laughlin,  Chester  B.  McLaugh- 
lin, Edward  J.  Gavegan,  P.  Henry  Dugro,  Francis  B. 
Delehanty,  and  John  V.  McAvoy. 

Judge  Philbin,  in  addition  to  his  service  on  the  Supreme 
Court  bench,  is  noted  for  his  work  in  connection  with  Ellis 
Island.  In  addition  to  his  position  as  Supreme  Court  and 
Appellate  Division  justice.  Judge  Miller  has  been  State 
comptroller.  Judge  Laughlin  has  been  justice  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  since  1895,  and  of  the  Appellate  Division  since 
1899.  Judge  McLaughlin  has  likewise  been  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  and  the  Appellate  Division  for  many  years. 
Judge  Gavegan  was  elected  Supreme  Court  justice  in  1910, 
to  serve  till  1923.   Judge  Dugro,  besides  his  activities  as  Su- 

102 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

preme  Court  justice,  built  the  Hotels  Savoy  and  Seville  and 
organized  the  Union  Square  Bank. 

Inside  the  Manhattan  Club  there  are  other  clubs — circles 
within  circles.  Foremost  among  them  is  the  "Modocs."  One 
of  its  most  prominent  members,  Herbert  D.  Lounsbury,  has 
this  to  say  in  reference  to  its  name  and  history: 

"Modoc"  is  of  Indian  derivation,  and  was  the  name  of  the 
tribe  inhabiting  the  southwestern  portion  of  what  is  now  the 
State  of  Oregon.  It  was  slightly  over  forty  years  ago  that 
this  Indian  tribe  gained  newspaper  notoriety  through  its 
resistance  to  the  authority  of  the  United  States  Government. 

"Attracted  to  the  name  by  seeing  it  so  frequently  printed 
in  the  newspapers  of  that  period,  it  was  adopted  as  the  name 
of  a  little  coterie  of  men  who  delighted  in  each  other's  com- 
panionship and  who  wished  to  meet  regularly  for  dining  and 
general  sociability. 

"Thus,  what  has  become  unique  in  clubdom — the  Modocs 
— was  founded  by  Charles  Duggin,  Esq.,  a  well-known 
builder  of  the  early  seventies,  and  for  many  years  an 
esteemed  member  of  the  Manhattan  Club. 

"At  first  the  symposiums  of  the  Modocs  were  held  in  the 
ofEce  of  Mr.  Duggin,  but  the  Manhattan  Club  was  later  se- 
lected, and  for  over  thirty-five  years  this  little  club  within 
the  Club  has  met  with  remarkable  regularity  and  with  a 
membership  varying  little  in  number  from  the  original  body. 

"Nothing  is  so  unchangeable  as  change,  and  the  span  of 
forty  years  leaves  but  few  of  the  original  'tribe*  living,  but 
that  limited  number  includes  Mr.  Duggin,  its  founder;  Hon. 
Henry  A.  Gildersleeve,  the  distinguished  jurist;  and  Allan 
R.  Blount — three  names  which  can  never  be  disassociated 
from  the  Modocs. 

"During  these  forty  years  men  famous  in  politics  and  in 
nearly  all  the  professions  and  vocations  have  been  received 
in  the  councils  of  the  tribe.    That  the  Modocs  still  flourishes 

103 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

is  because  of  its  moderation  in  all  things  sociable,  an  inde- 
structible foundation,  and  this  it  is  which  should  insure  a 
continuance  of  its  robust  existence. 

"Its  present  membership  consists  of  the  following  gentle- 
men! 

Hon.  Henry  A.  Gildersleeve 

Mr.  O.  R.  Cauchois 
Mr.  Allan  R.  Blount 
Mr.  Herbert  D.  Lounsbury 
Mr.  Edgar  L.  Newhouse 
Mr.  T.  Reid  Fell 
Mr.  J.  Stevens  Ulman 
Mr.  John  H.  O'Brien 
Mr.  Elting  F.  Warner 
Mr.  A.  J.  Johnson 
Mr.  Clarence  S.  Herter 
Mr.  Cornelius  S.  Pinkney 
Mr.  Frederick  H.  Levey 
Mr.  Wilbur  L.  Ball 
Mr.  Walter  S.  Roberts 

"Lives  of  great  men  all  remind  us 

We  are  of  a  different  kind — 
And  departing  leave  behind  us 
Tracks  an  Indian  could  n't  find." 

Another  club,  which  has  been  existing  all  these  years 
without  a  name,  is  one  of  which  Joseph  S.  Ulman,  familiarly 
known  on  the  Stock  Exchange  and  in  the  Club  as  "Josephus," 
is  manager,  so  to  speak. 

The  "Boarding-house  Table"  originated  with  the  late  Syl- 
vester J.  O'SuUivan,  and  the  "boarders,"  as  they  were  called, 
embraced  the  following  persons : 

Harry  Keene 
Hon.  John  G.  Carlisle 
104 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

Charles  L.  Brodt 
Philip  J.  Britt 
James  A.  Deering 
Dr.  J.  B.  Irwin 
Frederick  B.  Tilghman 
James  Buckley 

Since  the  organization  of  the  table,  five  of  its  "boarders" 
have  died,  and  the  following  are  the  surviving  members : 

Philip  J.  Britt 
Frederick  B.  Tilghman 
James  Buckley 

The  "honorary  boarders,"  as  they  were  called,  were  Judge 
D-Cady  Herrick,  Justices  Dayton  and  Truax,  and  the  com- 
piler of  this  history. 

The  table  was  always  set  for  ten  persons,  and  scarcely  an 
evening  passed  but  that  every  seat  was  taken.  During  its 
existence  the  "Boarding-house  Table"  entertained  many 
prominent  persons  from  outside  of  the  City  and  State. 

The  table  was  famous  for  the  specialties  which  were 
served,  and  employed  persons  who  furnished  game  of  va- 
rious kinds  during  the  season,  as  well  as  fish  from  several 
private  preserves.    Its  favorite  beverage  was  buttermilk. 

It  was  noted  during  the  summer  season  for  the  celebrated 
vegetable  dinners  which  were  served,  consisting  of  every 
known  vegetable  grown  at  the  time. 

The  members  and  guests  indulged  in  discussion  of  various 
subjects,  political,  professional,  and  financial. 

The  table  is  still  in  existence  and  occupies  the  position 
where  it  was  originally  placed. 

The  popular  games  played  at  the  Manhattan  Club  are  bil- 
liards and  dominoes.  Each  year  a  domino  tournament  is 
held,  and  the  winner  is  emblazoned  champion.    The  pres- 

105 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

ent  title-holder  is  the  popular  contractor,  Edward  J.  Kelly. 
Such  was  the  joy  of  his  friends  by  reason  of  his  achievement 
that  an  ambrosial  dinner  was  tendered  in  his  honor. 

In  the  early  part  of  1913  there  was  an  exodus  of  silk-im- 
porting firms  from  their  down-town  locations  to  quarters  on 
Fourth  Avenue,  close  to  the  club-house.  They  form  the 
backbone  of  one  of  the  strongest  business  enterprises  of  this 
country,  and  the  admission  of  their  members  into  the  Club 
has  proved  a  source  of  mutual  satisfaction.  They  are  all 
men  of  keen  business  instincts,  and  are  alive  to  the  exigen- 
cies of  the  day.  Although  they  differ  from  the  old-style  t5^e 
of  clubman,  this  has  not  caused  friction  of  any  sort;  on  the 
contrary,  the  two  elements  have  merged  agreeably,  the 
result  justifying  the  wisdom  of  the  Board  of  Managers  in 
admitting  them.  These  new  members  have  injected  into  the 
life  of  the  Club  an  amount  of  vim,  quick  movement,  and  dash 
which  probably  is  not  to  be  found  in  any  other  similarly 
conditioned  organization  in  the  city.  Considerateness, 
generosity,  and  good  feeling  radiate  from  all,  and  the  Club 
is  proud  of  having  them  on  its  roster.  Among  their  names 
are  the  Gerli  Brothers  (Paulino,  Paul  B.,  E.,  and  Joseph), 
and  William  G.  Chave  and  William  Schramm. 

Men  who  have  been  members  for  thirty  years  or  more  are 
numerous.  Among  them  are:  Edward  R.  Bacon  (1881), 
Perry  Belmont  (1875),  John  C.  Calhoun  (1884),  Ferdinand 
E.  Canda  (1883),  Charles  H.  De  Witt  (1882),  Robert  E. 
Deyo  (1885),  Francis  A.  Dugro  (1884),  P.  Henry  Dugro 
(1882),  Roger  Foster  (1885),  John  J.  Freedman  (1874),  J.  A. 
Geissenhainer  (1886),  Henry  A.  Gilder  sleeve  (1881),  Lo- 
renzo M.  Gillet  (1883),  George  L.  Ingraham  (1883),  Laflin 
L.  Kellogg  (1878),  Abraham  R.  Lawrence  (1865),  S.  M. 
Lehman  (1883),  Jefferson  M.  Levy  (1878),  Mitchell  A.  C. 
Levy  (1885),  Napoleon  L.  Levy  (1881),  Julius  J.  Lyons 
(1869),  Charles  F.  MacLean  (1876),  Manton  Marble  (1865), 
John  C.  Maximos  (1871),  Theodore  W.  Myers  (1885),  De 

106 


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It 


of  cl 

conti  - 

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William  JF.  McCombs 


ms 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

LanceyNicoll  (1885),  Frank  K.Pendleton  (1877),  W.  McM. 
Speer(i886),  P.  Tillinghast  (1882),  Edgar  A.  Turrell(i877), 
George  W.  Van  Slyck  (1871),  and  C.  B.  Webster  (1885). 

Among  the  non-resident  members  of  similar  standing  are : 
E.  M.  Angel  (1883),  W.  E.  Baillie  (1881),  David  Barclay 
(1883),  A.  W.  Black  (1883),  C.  W.  Bonynge  (1880),  John  H. 
Bradford  (1883),  Samuel  H.  Buck  (1883),  Harry  G.  Cheney 
(1885),  W.  A.  Clark  (1885),  Dubois  Collier  (1886),  Alexan- 
der B.  Coxe  (1883),  Davidson  Dalziel  (1885),  Edmund  W. 
Davis  (1883),  Henry  G.  Davis  (1882),  Thomas  E.  Davis 
(1878),  J.  Swan  Frick  (1883),  Edward  I.  Frost  (1886), 
Charles  B.  Greeley  (1884),  William  G.  Hibbard  (1878), 
James  J.  Hill  (1885),  N.  K.  Honore  (1884),  Walter  Stilson 
Hutchins  (1880),  C.  H.  Hyams  (1881),  Frank  J.  Lewis 
(1880),  T.  M.  Logan  (1886),  Gardner  F.  McCandless  (1883), 
W.  G.  McCormick  (1882),  W.  J.  McKinnie  (1883),  Constan- 
tine  Menelas  (1874),  M.  H.  Murphy  (1885),  A.  G.  Ober 
(1880),  R.  W.  Parsons  (1881),  H.  C.  Pierce  (1885),  J-  A.  P. 
Ramsdell  (1875),  Clarence  Rathbone  (1875),  William  G. 
Rice  (1883),  E.  G.  Richmond  (1882),  Edgar  Saltus  (1881), 
Alfred  Slidell  (1870),  Henry  E.  Smith  (1883),  W.  C.  Squire 
(1883),  W.  E.  Tillotson  (1882),  Peter  D.  Vroom  (1886), 
Piers  Eliot  Warburton  (1883),  Walter  P.  Warren  (1882), 
Henry  Watterson  (1882),  Smith  M.  Weed  (1868),  W. 
Boerum  Wetmore  (1886),  and  Wm.  H.  Wheeler  (1881). 

From  the  above  record  might  be  drawn  the  axiom,  "Be- 
long to  the  Manhattan  Club  and  live  long !" 

At  present  there  are  twenty-one  employees  of  the  Manhat- 
tan Club  with  a  record  of  one  year  and  over,  those  of  longest 
service  being  Minnie  Roselli,  waitress  for  twenty-eight 
years ;  Joseph  Tomblin,  oysterman  for  twenty-seven  years ; 
Robert  Strong,  valet,  twenty-six  years;  Alfred  Comyns, 
head  waiter,  twenty-four  years;  and  George  Buschke,  house- 
man, twenty-one  years. 

There  are  nine  employees  who  have  been  with  the  Club 

107 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

between  six  and  nine  years,  and  seven  for  four — splendid 
witnesses  to  the  success  of  masculine  housekeeping. 

Dan  Kinder  is  the  waiter  of  the  two  inside  clubs.  He 
knows  the  order  of  each  member  without  asking  him  his 
wants.  The  same  eulogy,  in  the  realm  of  nectars,  may  be 
pressed  on  J.  N.  Taylor,  head  bartender  of  the  Club  for  many 
years.  The  record  is  complete  with  a  reference  to  the  popu- 
lar head  hallman,  William  Lavery,  for  fifteen  years  in  his 
present  employment. 


CHAPTER  THE  SIXTEENTH 

The  Anniversary  Banquet— A  Memorable  and  Brilliant  Affair— Presi- 
dent Britt  presides  and  President  Wilson  outlines  an  Administrative 
Programme— Speeches  by  Judge  O'Brien,  Mr.  Patrick  Francis  Mur- 
phy, and  Mr.  Frank  Lawrence. 

PPOINTED  by  President  Philip  J.  Britt  to 
weigh  and  discuss  all  plans  and  matters  in 
connection  with  the  Fiftieth  Anniversary, 
the  Anniversary  Committee  decided : 

First,  to  publish  a  history  of  the  Manhat- 
tan, which,  after  all  of  the  foremost  Ameri- 
can printing-houses  had  been  considered, 
was  contracted  to  be  issued  by  The  De  Vinne  Press. 

Second,  and  at  President  Britt's  proposal,  to  erect  a  bronze 
tablet  in  the  club-house  to  bear  the  following  inscription: 

IN  COMMEMORATION 
Of  a  half  century  of  the  continuance  of  the  Manhattan 
Club  of  New  York,  and  more  especially  of  the  unswerv- 
ing dedication  of  its  service  to  the  immortal  principles 
of  Democracy  as  conceived  by  our  Forefathers  and  car- 
ried on  to  us  by  the  Founders  of  this  Club ; 

And  in  reverent  thanksgiving  for  fifty  years  of  our  for- 
tune, progress,  and  invaluable  fellowship,  we,  the  loyal 

109 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

members  of  the  Manhattan  Club  of  New  York,  have  this 
day,  the  .  .  .  day  of  October,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
nineteen  hundred  and  fifteen,  erected  this  tablet  to  the 
undying  honor  of  the  distinguished  and  devoted  citi- 
zens whom  our  Club  has  given  to  the  City  and  State  of 
New  York  and  to  our  beloved  Nation. 

Third,  to  hold  a  banquet  in  celebration  of  the  Fiftieth  An- 
niversary. 

Every  means  was  invoked  by  the  Committee,  after  the 
successful  carrying  out  of  the  first  two  clauses,  to  bring  the 
third  to  a  happy  consummation.  But  many  difficulties  inter- 
posed, chief  of  them  the  circumstance  that  the  dining-hall  of 
the  Club  was  inadequate  to  accommodate  all  the  members 
who  requested  seats.  Rather  than  disappoint  a  single  mem- 
ber, rather  than  decide  against  what  in  all  justice  meant  the 
rights  democratically  and  fraternally  of  one  and  all  alike,  the 
Committee,  against  its  original  will  and  sentiment,  voted  to 
hold  the  anniversary  banquet  elsewhere,  and,  after  a  careful 
study  of  the  many  and  varied  hostelries  of  the  city,  the  Bilt- 
more  Hotel  was  selected.  The  choice  of  this  hotel  proved 
the  wisest  possible. 

In  the  meanwhile,  President  Wilson  had  been  invited  to 
attend  the  dinner  and  to  deliver  an  address.  The  date  of  the 
celebration  was  left  to  the  discretion  and  convenience  of  our 
Chief  Executive.  The  President  graciously  accepted  the 
invitation,  designated  the  evening  of  November  4,  the  date 
finally  announced  by  the  Committee,  as  the  one  most  con- 
venient to  him,  and,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  he  had  delivered 
no  public  speeches  on  the  subject,  selected  the  long  awaited 
and  universally  debated  topic  of  National  Defense  as  the 
theme  for  his  discourse  on  the  occasion. 

November  4  was  made  all  the  more  momentous  and 
worthy  of  record  by  the  splendid  and  enthusiastically  ad- 
mired address  of  the  President.    Such  was  the  broad  and 

no 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

patriotic  character  of  the  speech,  such  was  its  dramatic  sig- 
nificance, its  epoch-making  power,  its  sweeping  judgment 
reaching  down  as  an  inspiration  into  the  annals  of  future 
American  generations,  that  it  is  imperative  to  rehearse,  in 
its  proper  place,  the  story  in  its  entirety. 

Because  of  the  greater  accommodations  afforded  by  the 
Biltmore  Hotel,  it  was  deemed  advisable  by  the  committee 
to  extend  invitations  to  the  friends  of  guests  and  to  prom- 
inent Democrats  from  all  over  the  country.  The  response 
was  immediate.  When  the  great  hall  of  the  Biltmore  finally 
seated  the  last  comer,  the  sight  was  one  to  thrill  the  most 
jaded  old-timer.  Surrounded  by  American  flags  placed  at 
each  table,  under  the  brilliant  electric  legend,  "1865  to  1915/' 
Democrats  of  every  shade  of  Democracy  sat  and  chatted  and 
hobnobbed  and  passed  along  the  word  of  good  cheer  and 
mutual  good  will.  Republicans  and  Progressives  mingled. 
The  menu  was  pronounced  by  the  most  hardened  habitues 
of  dinners  to  be  the  "finest  ever."  Quite  the  most  critical 
expectation  of  the  strongest  skeptic  would  have  been  satis- 
fied. And  the  key-note  of  the  whole  evening,  banquet, 
speeches,  table-talk,  repartee,  and  all,  the  spirit  that  played 
undercurrent  to  the  general  march  of  events,  was  the  all- 
pervading  motive  of  patriotism.  Even  political  partisanship 
was  forgotten,  generously  merged  as  it  was  in  the  greater 
factor. 

Before  the  dinner.  President  Wilson,  true  to  the  highest 
and  noblest  precepts  of  Jeff ersonian  democracy,  good-fellow- 
ship, and  courtesy,  mingled  with  all,  shook  hands  with  alL 
Those  who  had  never  met  him  were  introduced  and  genially 
welcomed  by  him. 

Among  the  invited  guests  who  helped  to  make  the  occa- 
sion one  of  the  most  memorable  in  the  history  of  clubs  the 
world  over  were:  Mayor  Mitchel  of  New  York;  Secretary  of 
War  Lindley  M.  Garrison ;  Frank  R.  Lawrence,  president  of 
the  Lotos  Club;  Rev.  W.  T.  Manning,  rector  of  Trinity 

III 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

Church,  who  delivered  a  beautifully  appropriate  prayer ;  and 
Joseph  P.  Tumulty,  secretary  to  the  President,  all  of  whom 
sat  at  the  President's  table  along  with  the  President  of  the 
Club,  and  William  F.  McCombs,  Victor  J.  Dowling,  Morgan 
J.  O'Brien,  and  James  A.  O' Gorman,  Club  members. 

President  Philip  J.  Britt  was  the  toastmaster  of  the  occa- 
sion, and  a  more  capable  official  could  not  have  been  found 
anywhere.  Mr.  Britt  delivered  the  opening  address,  a  splen- 
did speech  full  of  allusions  that  warmed  the  hearts  of  the 
oldest  as  well  as  the  newest  Manhattanites.  The  trend  of 
each  phrase  was  absolutely  in  keeping  with  the  lofty  aims  of 
the  Anniversary. 

When,  after  referring  to  the  many  gatherings  of  the  Man- 
hattan Club  which  had  become  historic,  Mr.  Britt  said,  in 
concluding  his  address — 

"But  it  was  not  until  to-night  that  it  achieved  its  greatest 
distinction  in  having  its  only  living  honorary  member,  the 
scholar,  historian,  and  patriot  President  of  the  United  States, 
select  this  celebration  as  the  forum  whence  to  address  his 
fellow-countrymen  upon  what  are  probably  the  most  impor- 
tant and  vital  questions  which  have  presented  themselves  to 
the  people  of  this  Nation  since  the  beginning  of  the  Repub- 
lic. [Continued  applause.]  Mr.  President,  I  can  assure 
you,  sir,  of  the  heartfelt  appreciation  of  the  members  and 
guests  of  the  Manhattan  Club  of  your  presence  with  us  to- 
night. It  has  shed  additional  splendor  and  glory  on  this 
celebration.  And  we,  the  members  of  the  Manhattan  Club, 
rejoicing  in  the  goodly  heritage  of  fifty  years, — may  we  not, 
as  we  look  ahead  into  the  dim  and  uncertain  mazes  of  the 
future,  mindful  of  the  zeal  and  patriotism  of  its  founders, 
mindful  of  its  great  traditions  and  achievements,  venture  the 
hope  that  it  will  live  long  and  prosper,  and  that  it  will  con- 
tinue to  be  a  power  for  conservative  thought  and  action 
throughout  the  Nation,  until  our  country,  to  which  it  has 

112 


Chun 
jo- 
ss 
Clab,  anr! 

i:  O'.P 


Jif: 


When, 
hattan  C.i 


CO 


rine  to  the  jn- 


James  W^atson  Gerard 


nights     1 


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r.  the 


113 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

given  so  many  illustrious  sons,  shall  be  no  more?  [Con- 
tinued applause.  ]  Gentlemen,  I  give  you  the  health  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States." 

— the  banquet-hall  presented  a  never  to  be  forgotten  scene; 
every  person  rose  to  his  feet  and  joined  in  the  singing  of 
"The  Star  Spangled  Banner,"  which  was  followed  for  some 
minutes  by  continuous  applause  and  waving  of  American 
flags. 

Other  speakers  were  ex-President  Morgan  J.  0*Brien, 
Patrick  Francis  Murphy,  the  nonpareil  of  after-dinner 
speakers,  and  President  Lawrence  of  the  Lotos  Club.  Judge 
O'Brien,  than  whom  no  more  appropriate  individual  for  the 
part  assigned  to  him  could  have  been  designated,  recounted 
the  glories  and  memories  of  Manhattan  Club  history.  Pat- 
rick Francis  Murphy  was  in  his  finest  fettle,  and  when  that  is 
said  no  further  tribute  can  be  added.  In  speaking  of  Presi- 
dent Wilson,  he  remarked  wittily  and  appropriately :  "A  man 
may  be  too  proud  to  fight,  and  yet  find  himself  in  a  serious 
engagement."  President  Lawrence  spoke  in  behalf  of  the 
sister  clubs  of  New  York. 

Wave  after  wave  of  applause  greeted  President  Wilson 
after  Mr.  Britt  had  said,  in  presenting  him  to  the  company, 
that  history  would  accord  him  a  place  by  the  side  of  Wash- 
ington and  Lincoln,  and  "that  this  coimtry  is  not  now 
plunged  into  that  inferno  of  bloodshed  that  is  devastating 
Europe  is  attributable  to  the  cool  head,  great  mind,  and 
patriotic  heart  of  Woodrow  Wilson." 

Time  and  time  again,  outbursts  of  enthusiasm  and  hearty 
cheering  accentuated  leading  points  in  the  President's  speech 
and  interrupted  its  even  flow.  Mr.  Wilson  spoke  with  char- 
acteristic dignity  and  quietude  of  accent  and  demeanor. 
Immediately  upon  the  conclusion  of  the  now  famous  address, 
accoimts  of  it  and  the  details  of  the  great  Anniversary  Cele- 
bration were  sent  to  all  parts  of  America  and  Europe,  large 

"3 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

space  being  devoted  to  the  occasion  by  virtually  all  the  great 
newspapers  of  the  world. 
President  Wilson's  speech  was  as  follows : 

" Mr.  Toastmaster  and  Gentlemen : 

"I  warmly  felicitate  the  Club  upon  the  completion  of  fifty 
years  of  successful  and  interesting  life.  Club  life  may  be 
made  to  mean  a  great  deal  to  those  who  know  how  to  use  it. 
I  have  no  doubt  that  to  a  great  many  of  you  has  come  genu- 
ine stimulation  in  the  associations  of  this  place,  and  that  as 
the  years  have  multiplied  you  have  seen  more  and  more  the 
useful  ends  which  may  be  served  by  organizations  of  this  sort. 

"But  I  have  not  come  to  speak  wholly  of  that,  for  there  are 
others  of  your  own  members  who  can  speak  of  the  Club  with 
a  knowledge  and  an  intelligence  which  no  one  can  have  who 
has  not  been  intimately  associated  with  it.  Men  band  them- 
selves together  for  the  sake  of  the  association,  no  doubt,  but 
also  for  something  greater  and  deeper  than  that — because 
they  are  conscious  of  common  interests  lying  outside  their 
business  occupations,  because  they  are  members  of  the  same 
community,  and  in  frequent  intercourse  find  mutual  stimula- 
tion and  a  real  maximum  of  vitality  and  power. 

"I  shall  assume  that  here  around  the  dinner-table  on  this 
memorial  occasion  our  talk  should  properly  turn  to  the  wide 
and  common  interests  which  are  most  in  our  thoughts, 
whether  they  be  the  interests  of  the  community  or  of  the 
Nation. 

"A  year  and  a  half  ago  our  thought  would  have  been  al- 
most altogether  of  great  domestic  questions.  They  are  many 
and  of  vital  consequence.  We  must  and  shall  address  our- 
selves to  their  solution  with  diligence,  firmness,  and  self-pos- 
session, notwithstanding  we  find  ourselves  in  the  midst  of  a 
world  disturbed  by  great  disaster  and  ablaze  with  terrible 
war;  but  our  thought  is  now  inevitably  of  new  things  about 
which  formerly  we  gave  ourselves  little  concern. 

114 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

"We  are  thinking  now  chiefly  of  our  relations  with  the  rest 
of  the  world — not  our  commercial  relations — about  those  we 
have  thought  and  planned  always — but  about  our  political 
relations,  our  duties  as  an  individual  and  independent  force 
in  the  world  to  ourselves,  our  neighbors,  and  the  world  itself. 

AMERICAN  PRINCIPLES 

"Our  principles  are  well  known.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
avow  them  again.  We  believe  in  political  liberty  and 
founded  our  great  Government  to  obtain  it,  the  liberty  of 
men  and  of  peoples — of  men  to  choose  their  own  lives  and  of 
peoples  to  choose  their  own  allegiance. 

"Our  ambition,  also,  all  the  world  has  knowledge  of.  It  is 
not  only  to  be  free  and  prosperous  ourselves,  but  also  to  be 
the  friend  and  thoughtful  partisan  of  those  who  are  free  or 
who  desire  freedom  the  world  over.  If  we  have  had  aggres- 
sive purposes  and  covetous  ambitions,  they  were  the  fruit  of 
our  thoughtless  youth  as  a  Nation,  and  we  have  put  them 
aside. 

"We  shall,  I  confidently  believe,  never  again  take  another 
foot  of  territory  by  conquest.  We  shall  never  in  any  circum- 
stances seek  to  make  an  independent  people  subject  to  our 
dominion;  because  we  believe,  we  passionately  believe,  in  the 
right  of  every  people  to  choose  their  own  allegiance  and  be 
free  of  masters  altogether. 

"For  ourselves,  we  wish  nothing  but  the  full  liberty  of 
self -development ;  and  with  ourselves  in  this  great  matter  we 
associate  all  the  peoples  of  our  own  hemisphere.  We  wish 
not  only  for  the  United  States,  but  for  them  the  fullest  free- 
dom of  independent  growth  and  of  action,  for  we  know  that 
throughout  this  hemisphere  the  same  aspirations  are  every- 
where being  worked  out,  under  diverse  conditions,  but  with 
the  same  impulse  and  ultimate  object. 

"All  this  is  very  clear  to  us  and  will,  I  confideritly  predict, 
become  more  and  more  clear  to  the  whole  world  as  the  great 

"5 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

processes  of  the  future  unfold  themselves.  It  is  with  a  full 
consciousness  of  such  principles  and  such  ambitions  that  we 
are  asking  ourselves  at  the  present  time  what  our  duty  is 
with  regard  to  the  armed  force  of  the  Nation. 

"Within  a  year  we  have  witnessed  what  we  did  not  believe 
possible — a  great  European  conflict  involving  many  of  the 
greatest  nations  of  the  world.  The  influences  of  a  great  war 
are  ever5rwhere  in  the  air.  All  Europe  is  embattled.  Force 
everywhere  speaks  out  with  a  loud  and  imperious  voice  in  a 
titanic  struggle  of  governments,  and  from  one  end  of  our 
own  dear  country  to  the  other  men  are  asking  one  another 
what  our  own  force  is,  how  far  we  are  prepared  to  maintain 
ourselves  against  any  interference  with  our  national  action 
or  development. 

"NOT  FOR  AGGRESSION" 

"In  no  man's  mind,  I  am  sure,  is  there  even  raised  the  ques- 
tion of  the  wilful  use  of  force  on  our  part  against  any  nation 
or  any  people.  No  matter  what  military  or  naval  force  the 
United  States  might  develop,  statesmen  throughout  the 
whole  world  might  rest  assured  that  we  were  gathering  that 
force,  not  for  attack  in  any  quarter,  not  for  aggression  of  any 
kind,  not  for  the  satisfaction  of  any  political  or  internationsJ 
ambition,  but  merely  to  make  sure  of  our  own  security.  We 
have  it  in  mind  to  be  prepared,  but  not  for  war,  only  for 
defense;  and  with  the  thought  constantly  in  our  minds  that 
the  principles  we  hold  most  dear  can  be  achieved  by  the  slow 
processes  of  history  only  in  the  kindly  and  wholesome  atmo- 
sphere of  peace,  and  not  by  the  use  of  hostile  force.  The 
mission  of  America  in  the  world  is  essentially  a  mission  of 
peace  and  good  will  among  men.  She  has  become  the  home 
and  asylum  of  men  of  all  creeds  and  races.  Within  her  hos- 
pitable borders  they  have  found  homes  and  congenial  asso- 
ciations and  freedom  and  a  wide  and  cordial  welcome,  and 
they  have  become  part  of  the  bone  and  sinew  and  spirit  of 

ii6 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

America  itself.  America  has  been  made  up  out  of  the  na- 
tions of  the  world  and  is  the  friend  of  the  nations  of  the 
world. 

"But  we  feel  justified  in  preparing  ourselves  to  vindicate 
our  right  to  independent  and  unmolested  action  by  making 
the  force  that  is  in  us  ready  for  assertion. 

"And  we  know  that  we  can  do  this  in  a  way  that  will  be 
itself  an  illustration  of  the  American  spirit.  In  accordance 
with  our  American  traditions  we  want  and  shall  work  for 
only  an  army  adequate  to  the  constant  and  legitimate  uses 
of  times  of  international  peace.  But  we  do  want  to  feel  that 
there  is  a  great  body  of  citizens  who  have  received  at  least 
the  most  rudimentary  and  necessary  forms  of  military  train- 
ing; that  they  will  be  ready  to  form  themselves  into  a  fight- 
ing force  at  the  call  of  the  Nation;  and  that  the  Nation  has 
the  munitions  and  supplies  with  which  to  equip  them  without 
delay,  should  it  be  necessary  to  call  them  into  action. 

"We  wish  to  supply  them  with  the  training  they  need,  and 
we  think  we  can  do  so  without  calling  them  at  any  time  too 
long  away  from  their  civilian  pursuits. 

"It  is  with  this  idea,  with  this  conception,  in  mind  that  the 
plans  have  been  made  which  it  will  be  my  privilege  to  lay 
before  the  Congress  at  its  next  session.  That  plan  calls  for 
only  such  an  increase  in  the  regular  army  of  the  United 
States  as  experience  has  proved  to  be  required  for  the  per- 
formance of  the  necessary  duties  of  the  army  in  the  Philip- 
pines, in  Hawaii,  in  Porto  Rico,  upon  the  borders  of  the 
United  States,  at  the  coast  fortifications,  and  at  the  military 
posts  of  the  interior. 

"For  the  rest,  it  calls  for  the  training  within  the  next  three 
years  of  a  force  of  400,000  citizen  soldiers  to  be  raised  in  an- 
nual contingents  of  133,000,  who  would  be  asked  to  enlist  for 
three  years  with  the  colors  and  three  years  on  furlough,  but 
who  during  their  three  years  of  enlistment  with  the  colors 
would  not  be  organized  as  a  standing  force,  but  would  be  ex- 

117 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

pected  merely  to  undergo  intensive  training  for  a  very  brief 
period  of  each  year. 

"Their  training  would  take  place  in  immediate  association 
with  the  organized  units  of  the  regular  army.  It  would  have 
no  touch  of  the  amateur  about  it,  neither  would  it  exact  of 
the  volunteers  more  than  they  could  give  in  any  one  year 
from  their  civilian  pursuits. 

"And  none  of  this  would  be  done  in  such  a  way  as  in  the 
slightest  degree  to  supersede  or  subordinate  our  present  ser- 
viceable and  efficient  National  Guard.  On  the  contrary,  the 
National  Guard  itself  would  be  used  as  part  of  the  instru- 
mentality by  which  training  would  be  given  the  citizens  who 
enlisted  under  the  new  conditions,  and  I  should  hope  and 
expect  that  the  legislation  by  which  all  this  would  be  accom- 
plished would  put  the  National  Guard  itself  upon  a  better 
and  more  permanent  footing  than  it  has  ever  been  before, 
giving  it  not  only  the  recognition  which  it  deserves,  but  a 
more  definite  support  from  the  National  Government  and  a 
more  definite  connection  with  the  military  organization  of 
the  Nation. 

"What  we  all  wish  to  accomplish  is  that  the  forces  of  the 
Nation  should  indeed  be  part  of  the  Nation  and  not  a  sepa- 
rate professional  force,  and  the  chief  cost  of  the  system 
would  not  be  in  the  enlistment  or  in  the  training  of  the  men, 
but  in  the  providing  of  ample  equipment  in  case  it  should  be 
necessary  to  call  all  forces  into  the  field. 

THE  NAVY 

"Moreover,  it  has  been  American  policy  time  out  of  mind 
to  look  to  the  navy  as  the  first  and  chief  line  of  defense.  The 
navy  of  the  United  States  is  already  a  very  great  and  efficient 
force.  Not  rapidly,  but  slowly,  with  careful  attention,  our 
naval  force  has  been  developed  until  the  navy  of  the  United 
States  stands  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  efficient  and 
notable  of  the  modern  time.    All  that  is  needed  in  order  to 

ii8 


pccter  ■  •v-.:^'  ...iisivc  '  '  T  a  very  i>ricl 


with 


•soaation 
ive 


no  tc  amatt  lact  of 

the  V  '  b.aa  ixi  ill  au^-  oue  ^^«»r 


'jtf^t 


"^^f^  as  ■»«*  rhf? 


-Ji    w : 


men*  ,  trai?ii 

er  onder  the  tjev 

expect  that  the  leg  *>e  accom- 

plish^ j^rancis  Burton  Harrisoit^^^  ^^^  « 

ar^-  i.s  ever  been  bc:v..:  • ; 

g;  h  it  dc?;erTes.  but  a 

n-  i  a 


bux  X 
neeet.: — 

THE  NAV¥ 

Moreover,  it  has  been  American  policy  • 
tc  ~  • '  '  --tvy  as  the  &nt  and  cMef  line  ^.^  ■■i^im*^'- 

:zd  Slates  is  alreaf'^v  s  "-erv  prf^A?  m^^  r  ■ 
Jt  slowly, 

:velc^)ed  until  the  navy  ot  tne  Umted 

jcogaizcd  as  one  of  the  most  ejQIdent  an^ 

jiw^  dern  time.    AH  that  is  needed  mmd&  to 

ii;8 


.mmmm^i%m.mmm^m^&msm> 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

bring  it  to  a  point  of  extraordinary  force  and  efficiency  as 
compared  with  the  other  navies  of  the  world  is  that  we 
shoiild  hasten  our  pace  in  the  policy  we  have  long  been  pur- 
suing, and  that  chief  of  all  we  should  have  a  definite  policy  of 
development,  not  made  from  year  to  year,  but  looking  well 
into  the  future  and  planning  for  a  definite  consummation. 

"We  can  and  should  profit  in  all  that  we  do  by  the  experi- 
ence and  example  that  have  been  made  obvious  to  us  by  the 
military  and  naval  events  of  the  actual  present.  It  is  not 
merely  a  matter  of  building  battle-ships  and  cruisers  and 
submarines,  but  also  a  matter  of  making  sure  that  we  shall 
have  the  adequate  equipment  of  men  and  munitions  and  sup- 
plies for  the  vessels  we  build  and  intend  to  build. 

"Part  of  our  problem  is  the  problem  of  what  I  may  call  the 
mobilization  of  the  resources  of  the  Nation  at  the  proper 
time,  if  it  should  ever  be  necessary  to  mobilize  them  for  na- 
tional defense.  We  shall  study  efficiency  and  adequate 
equipment  as  carefully  as  we  shall  study  the  number  and  size 
of  our  ships,  and  I  believe  that  the  plans  already  in  part  made 
public  by  the  Navy  Depairtment  are  plans  which  the  whole 
Nation  can  approve  with  rational  enthusiasm. 

"No  thoughtful  man  feels  any  panic  haste  in  this  matter. 
The  country  is  not  threatened  from  any  quarter.  She  stands 
in  friendly  relations  with  all  the  world.  Her  resources  are 
known,  and  her  self-respect  and  her  capacity  to  care  for  her 
own  citizens  and  her  own  rights.  There  is  no  fear  among  us. 
Under  the  new  world  conditions  we  have  become  thoughtful 
of  the  things  which  all  reasonable  men  consider  necessary 
for  security  and  self-defense  on  the  part  of  every  nation  con- 
fronted with  the  great  enterprise  of  human  liberty  and  inde- 
pendence.   That  is  all. 

"NO  PRIDE  OF  OPINION" 

"Is  the  plan  we  propose  sane  and  reasonable  and  suited  to 
the  needs  of  the  hour?    Does  it  not  conform  to  the  ancient 

119 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

traditions  of  America?  Has  any  better  plan  been  proposed 
than  this  programme  that  we  now  place  before  the  country? 
In  it  there  is  no  pride  of  opinion.  It  represents  the  best  pro- 
fessional and  expert  judgment  of  the  country. 

"But  I  am  not  so  much  interested  in  programmes  as  I  am 
in  safeguarding  at  every  cost  the  good  faith  and  honor  of  the 
country.  If  men  differ  with  me  in  this  vital  matter,  I  shall 
ask  them  to  make  it  clear  how  far  and  in  what  way  they  are 
interested  in  making  the  permanent  interests  of  the  country 
safe  against  disturbance. 

"In  the  fulfilment  of  the  programme  I  propose  I  shall  ask 
for  the  hearty  support  of  the  country,  of  the  rank  and  file  of 
America,  of  men  of  all  shades  of  political  opinion.  For  my 
position  in  this  important  matter  is  different  from  that  of  the 
private  individual  who  is  free  to  speak  his  own  thoughts  and 
to  risk  his  own  opinions  in  this  matter. 

"We  are  here  dealing  with  things  that  are  vital  to  the  life 
of  America  itself.  In  doing  this  I  have  tried  to  purge  my 
heart  of  all  personal  and  selfish  motives.  For  the  time  being 
I  speak  as  the  trustee  and  guardian  of  a  Nation's  rights, 
charged  with  the  duty  of  speaking  for  that  Nation  in  matters 
involving  her  sovereignty — a  Nation  too  big  and  generous  to 
be  exacting,  and  yet  courageous  enough  to  defend  its  rights 
and  the  liberties  of  its  people  wherever  assailed  or  invaded. 

"I  would  not  feel  that  I  was  discharging  the  solemn  obliga- 
tion I  owe  the  country  were  I  not  to  speak  in  terms  of  the 
deepest  solemnity  of  the  urgency  and  necessity  of  preparing 
ourselves  to  guard  and  protect  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
our  people,  our  sacred  heritage  of  the  fathers  who  struggled 
to  make  us  an  independent  Nation. 

"The  only  thing  within  our  own  borders  that  has  given  us 
grave  concern  in  recent  months  has  been  that  voices  have 
been  raised  in  America  professing  to  be  the  voices  of  Ameri- 
cans which  were  not  indeed  and  in  truth  American,  but 
which  spoke  alien  sympathies,  which  came  from  men  who 

120 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

loved  other  countries  better  than  they  loved  America,  men 
who  were  partisans  of  other  causes  than  that  of  America  and 
had  forgotten  that  their  chief  and  only  allegiance  was  to  the 
great  Government  under  which  they  live. 

"These  voices  have  not  been  many,  but  they  have  been 
very  loud  and  very  clamorous.  They  have  proceeded  from  a 
few  who  were  bitter  and  who  were  grievously  misled.  Amer- 
ica has  not  opened  its  doors  in  vain  to  men  and  women  out  of 
other  nations.  The  vast  majority  of  those  who  have  come  to 
take  advantage  of  her  hospitality  have  united  their  spirit 
with  hers  as  well  as  their  fortunes.  These  men  who  speak 
alien  sympathies  are  not  their  spokesmen,  but  are  the  spokes- 
men of  small  groups  whom  it  is  high  time  that  the  Nation 
should  call  to  a  reckoning. 

"The  chief  thing  necessary  in  America  in  order  that  she 
should  let  all  the  world  know  that  she  is  prepared  to  main- 
tain her  own  great  position  is  that  the  real  voice  of  the 
Nation  should  sound  forth  unmistakably  and  in  majestic 
volume  in  the  deep  unison  of  a  common,  imhesitating  na- 
tional feeling.  I  do  not  doubt  that  upon  the  first  occasion, 
upon  the  first  opportunity,  upon  the  first  definite  challenge, 
that  voice  will  speak  forth  in  tones  which  no  man  can  doubt, 
and  with  commands  which  no  man  dare  gainsay  or  resist. 

"May  I  not  say,  while  I  am  speaking  of  this,  that  there  is 
another  danger  that  we  should  guard  against?  We  should 
rebuke  not  only  manifestations  of  racial  feeling  here  in 
America,  where  there  should  be  none,  but  also  every  mani- 
festation of  religious  and  sectarian  antagonism. 

"It  does  not  become  America  that  within  her  borders, 
where  every  man  is  free  to  follow  the  dictates  of  his  con- 
science and  worship  God  as  he  pleases,  men  should  raise  the 
cry  of  church  against  church.  To  do  that  is  to  strike  at  the 
very  spirit  and  heart  of  America.  We  are  God-fearing  peo- 
ple. We  agree  to  differ  about  methods  of  worship,  but  we 
are  united  in  believing  in  Divine  Providence  and  in  worship- 

Z2I 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

ing  the  God  of  Nations.  We  are  the  champions  of  religious 
right  here  and  everywhere  that  it  may  be  our  privilege  to 
give  it  our  countenance  and  support.  The  Government  is 
conscious  of  the  obligation,  and  the  Nation  is  conscious  of 
the  obligation.  Let  no  man  create  divisions  where  there  are 
none. 

"Here  is  the  Nation  God  has  builded  by  our  hands.  What 
shall  we  do  with  it?  Who  is  there  who  does  not  stand  ready 
at  all  times  to  act  in  her  behalf  in  a  spirit  of  devoted  and  dis- 
interested patriotism?  We  are  yet  only  in  the  youth  and 
first  consciousness  of  our  power.  The  day  of  our  country's 
life  is  still  but  in  its  fresh  morning.  Let  us  lift  our  eyes  to  the 
great  tracts  of  life  yet  to  be  conquered  in  the  interests  of 
righteous  peace.  Come,  let  us  renew  our  sdlegiance  to  Amer- 
ica, conserve  her  strength  in  its  purity,  make  her  chief  among 
those  who  serve  mankind,  self -reverenced,  self -commanded, 
mistress  of  all  forces  of  quiet  counsel,  strong  above  all  others 
in  good  will  and  the  might  of  invincible  justice  and  right." 

The  day  after  the  delivery  of  the  President's  speech  the 
newspapers  contained  a  "statement"  from  the  recent  Secre- 
tary of  State  in  which  he  not  only  antagonized  every  position 
and  opinion  of  his  former  Chief,  but  assailed  his  choice  of  a 
forum.  "I  hope,"  said  Mr.  Bryan,  "the  President  will  not  be 
deceived  by  the  atmosphere  of  the  Manhattan  Club.  That  is 
the  one  place  in  the  United  States  where  the  mammon-wor- 
shiping portion  of  the  Democratic  Party  meets  to  exchange 
compliments;  there  is  no  group  farther  removed  from  the 
sentiment  of  the  masses,  whether  you  measure  that  senti- 
ment by  economical,  social  or  religious  standards."  Upon 
reading  this,  one  of  the  oldest  members  of  the  Club,  a  veteran 
Democrat  and  by  no  means  a  millionaire,  sententiously 
observed :  "A  man  who  could  go  into  a  court  of  law  and  con- 
tend with  a  widow  for  a  share  of  a  small  estate  upon  which 
he  had  no  just  claim;  who  could  serve  grape-juice  to  save 

122 


FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

wine-bills ;  and  who,  forgetting  alike  the  duties  and  dignities 
of  his  office,  whilst  complaining  of  a  stipend  regarded  by  all 
his  predecessors  as  sufficient,  could  discredit  the  one  and 
neglect  the  other  by  converting  himself  into  a  peripatetic 
showman,  is  not  a  fit  person  to  lecture  anybody  upon  the 
mammon  of  unrighteousness." 

Dinners  may  come  and  dinners  may  go;  other  great  anni- 
versaries will  follow ;  men,  nations  and  events  will  take  their 
course.  But  when  records  pass  down  into  history  to  be 
perused  and  contemplated  by  the  sons  and  grandsons  of 
present-day  Manhattan  members,  November  4,  191 5,  will  be 
not  only  remembered,  but  it  will  be  referred  to  with  a  certain 
admiration  and  reverence  justly  due  to  the  greatest  night  in 
the  history  of  the  Club.  And  with  the  radiance  of  the  future 
there  will  silently  join  the  spirit  of  the  past,  represented  by 
the  loyal  men  who  started  the  Manhattan  Club  on  its  way 
and  carried  it  to  its  present  development,  in  recognition  at 
once  of  efficient  brotherhood  and  of  splendid  achievement  so 
wholly  yet  unobtrusively  won  by  those  who  made  the  fourth 
of  November  what  it  was. 


Henry  Watterson 


.  *v'-    -V^     '>r  Ji-^^^Vs-v  .  v!|i«»*''.i>       *^-fc.rf^* 


l^£^': 


^=^:-..'^f'Sil*«'«c]»T»j;«Ki«ffi-'w'-:!^ 


L'ENVOI 


L'ENVOI 


LTHOUGH  something  less  than  fifty  years 
ago,  it  seems  a  full  century  since  the  Editor 
of  these  records  crossed  the  threshold  of 
the  old  Benkard  house  and  entered  the 
Manhattan  Club,  the  guest  of  one  of  the 
most  eminent  and  important  of  its  mem- 
bers, the  late  August  Belmont. 
I  recall  that  we  were  joined  at  luncheon  by  Mr.  Samuel  J. 
Tilden  and  General  Elijah  Ward.  I  had  known  both  of 
them,  as,  indeed,  Mr.  Belmont,  before  the  war — that  is,  the 
War  of  Sections,  which  was  then  but  just  ended — to  most 
thoughtful  Americans  a  horrible  nightmare.  The  Demo- 
cratic Party  had  reached  a  low  ebb  in  its  fortunes,  but 
Democracy  was  still  a  password.  The  four  of  us  were  Demo- 
crats. The  Club  had  been  organized,  if  possible,  to  revitalize 
Democracy. 

Curiously  enough,  our  talk  was  not  political,  but  personal 
and  reminiscential.  It  dealt  mainly  with  Washington 
City  and  New  York,  and  what  had  happened  the  last  few 
years,  and  was  passing  now,  the  changes  of  relation  and  for- 
tunes the  great  upheaval  had  brought  about,  the  queer  mar- 
riages and  untimely  deaths — Mr.  Tilden,  a  bachelor,  and 

127 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

General  Ward,  but  recently  a  Benedict,  both  men  of  society, 
and  interested  in  fashion;  Mr.  Belmont,  the  master  of  a 
household  whose  chatelaine,  with  Mrs.  Astor,  stood  at  the 
head  of  the  "Four  Hundred"  of  the  period.  Mrs.  Belmont 
was  a  Perry,  of  the  celebrated  naval  family,  and  the  story  of 
her  marriage  to  Mr.  Belmont  was  still  a  familiar  and  inspir- 
ing romance.  He  went  lame  and  walked  with  a  cane  to  the 
end  of  his  days  from  a  bullet  wound  acquired  in  a  somewhat 
Quixotic  duel  fought  in  defense  of  what  he  thought  his  man- 
hood and  honor.  Though  a  statesman  and  a  banker  of  rec- 
ognized standing  and  high  rank,  he  remained  a  preux 
chevalier,  quick  to  answer  and  punish  insult,  prompt  in 
S5mipathy,  a  generous  friend  and  a  dangerous  enemy. 

An  almost  unconscious  rivalry  arose  in  time  between  Mr. 
Belmont  and  Mr.  Tilden.  There  was  a  certain  intellectual 
likeness  between  them.  Each  had  a  genius  for  finance,  and 
each  was  a  publicist. 

Two  softer-hearted  human  beings  in  the  sentimentalities 
of  life  were  never  born  into  the  world.  Mr.  Belmont  attached 
himself  to  Mr.  Bayard.  He  appeared  in  two  National  Con- 
ventions, that  of  1876  and  that  of  1884,  at  the  head  of  the 
committee  urging  Mr.  Bayard's  nomination  for  the  Presi- 
dency. At  the  outset  Mr.  Tilden  resented  this;  but  in  the 
campaign  following  the  convention  of  1876,  which  had  nomi- 
nated him  and  not  Mr.  Bayard  for  President,  he  found  no 
reason  to  complain  of  Mr.  Belmont's  whole-hearted  and 
bountiful  support. 

^  There  was  not  so  much  as  a  dream  of  Governorship  and 
Presidential  nominations  as  our  little  party  of  four  sat  and 
gossiped  that  day  about  the  lunch-table.  Nearly  ten  years 
were  to  pass  before  Mr.  Tilden  "got  into  the  game,"  that  is, 
became  a  candidate  for  office  and  a  militant  party  force, 
being  then  and  through  the  intervening  decade  a  Democrat 
of  character  and  influence,  but  as  committeeman  and  coun- 
selor.   The  successful  movement  to  break  the  Tweed  Ring 

128 


L'ENVOI 

and  bring  its  brigand  chief  to  justic*  made  him  a  conspicuous 
figure  and  a  power  to  be  reckoned  with. 

He  had  a  fancy  for  the  gubernatorial  nomination  in  1872, 
when  there  was  no  chance  of  election,  and  was  given  the 
nomination  in  1874,  when  it  seemed  that  there  was  small 
chance,  and  when  in  consequence  no  one  else  desired  it. 

I  had  first  met  Mr.  Tilden  in  the  National  Democratic 
Convention  of  i860  at  Baltimore,  where  I  was  serving  as  a 
newspaper  reporter.  We  went  away  from  the  Manhattan 
Club  that  day  arm  in  arm ;  he  took  me  to  his  house  in  Gram- 
ercy  Park;  we  passed  the  afternoon  in  his  noble  library,  dined 
together,  and  thenceforward  to  the  day  of  his  death  our  rela- 
tions were  of  the  most  intimate  and  affectionate.  Though  a 
modest  and  somewhat  retiring  member  of  the  Manhattan 
Club,  he  was  a  most  earnest  and  interested  member.  The 
history  of  the  Club  and  his  history  ran  on  very  nearly  paral- 
lel lines  from  those  days  to  the  day  of  his  death.  As  they 
mark  the  renaissance  of  the  Democratic  Party,  to  which  the 
Club  was  dedicated,  it  may  be  neither  irrelevant  nor  uninter- 
esting to  relate  that  particular  chapter  with  some  detail. 

o  The  nomination  of  Horace  Greeley  in  1872  and  the  over- 
whelming defeat  which  followed  left  the  Democratic  Party 
in  an  abyss  of  despair.  The  old  Whig  Party,  after  the  disas- 
ter which  overtook  it  in  1852,  had  not  been  more  demoral- 
ized. Yet  in  the  general  elections  of  1874  the  Democrats 
swept  the  country,  carrying  many  Northern  States  and 
sending  a  great  majority  to  the  Forty-fourth  Congress. 

Reconstruction  was  breaking  down  of  its  very  weight  and 
rottenness.  The  panic  of  1873  reacted  against  the  party  in 
power.  Dissatisfaction  with  Grant,  which  had  not  sufficed 
two  years  before  to  displace  him,  was  growing  apace. 
Favoritism  bred  corruption,  and  corruption  grew  more  and 

129 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

more  defiant.  Succeeding  scandals  cast  their  shadows  be- 
fore. The  chickens  of  carpet-baggery  let  loose  upon  the 
South  were  coming  home  to  roost  at  the  North.  There  ap- 
peared everywhere  a  noticeable  subsidence  of  the  sectional 
spirit  and  a  rising  tide  of  the  national  spirit.  Reform  was 
needed  alike  in  the  State  governments  and  in  the  National 
government,  and  the  cry  for  reform  proved  something  other 
than  an  idle  word.    All  things  made  for  Democracy. 

Yet  there  were  multiplied  and  serious  handicaps.  The  light 
and  leading  of  the  historic  Democratic  Party  which  had 
issued  from  the  South  were  in  exile;  most  of  those  surviving 
who  had  been  distinguished  in  the  party  conduct  and  coun- 
sels were  disabled  by  act  of  Congress.  Of  the  few  prominent 
Democrats  left  at  the  North,  many  were  tainted  by  what  was 
called  copperheadism.  To  find  a  leader  wholly  free  from 
this  contamination,  Democracy  was  turning  to  such  disaf- 
fected Republicans  as  Chase,  Field,  and  Davis  of  the  Su- 
preme Court,  having  failed  of  success  not  only  with  Grreeley, 
but  with  McClellan  and  Se5miour.  At  last  Heaven  seemed 
to  smile  from  the  clouds  upon  the  disordered  ranks  and  to 
summon  thence  a  man  meeting  the  requirements  of  the  time. 
This  was  Samuel  Jones  Tilden. 

To  his  familiars  Mr.  Tilden  was  a  dear  old  bachelor  who 
lived  in  a  fine  old  mansion  in  Gramercy  Park.  Though  sixty 
years  of  age,  he  seemed  in  the  prime  of  manhood ;  a  genial 
and  overflowing  scholar;  a  trained  and  earnest  doctrinaire; 
a  public-spirited,  patriotic  citizen,  well  known  and  highly 
esteemed,  who  had  made  fame  and  fortune  at  the  Bar,  but 
had  never  held  important  office.  He  was  a  dreamer  with  a 
head  for  business;  a  philosopher,  yet  an  organizer.  He  pur- 
sued the  tenor  of  his  life  with  measured  tread.  His  domestic 
fabric  was  disfigured  by  none  of  the  isolation  and  squalor 
that  so  often  attend  the  confirmed  celibate.  His  home  life 
was  a  model  of  order  and  decorum;  his  home  as  unchal- 
lenged as  a  bishopric,  its  hospitality,  though  select,  abun- 

130 


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L'ENVOI 

dant  and  untiring.  An  elder  sister  presided  at  his  board,  as 
simple,  kindly,  and  unostentatious,  but  as  methodical,  as 
himself.  He  was  a  lover  of  rare  books,  but  also  of  blooded 
cattle,  horses  and  dogs,  and  out-of-door  activities;  not  much 
of  music  and  art.  He  was  fond  of  young  people,  particularly 
of  young  girls,  and  drew  them  about  him,  and  was  a  veritable 
Sir  Roger  de  Coverley  in  his  gallantries  toward  them  and  his 
zeal  in  amusing  them  and  making  them  happy.  His  tastes 
were  frugal,  and  their  indulgence  sparing.  He  took  his  wine 
not  plenteously,  though  he  enjoyed  it — especially  his  "blue 
seal"  while  it  lasted — and  sipped  his  whisky-and-water  on 
occasion  with  a  pleased  composure  redolent  of  discursive 
talk,  of  which,  when  he  cared  to  lead  the  conversation,  he 
was  a  master.  He  had  early  come  into  a  great  legal  practice 
and  held  a  commanding  place  at  the  Bar.  His  law  judgments 
were  believed  to  be  infallible ;  and  it  is  certain  that  he  rarely 
appeared  in  the  courts,  settling  most  of  the  cases  that  came 
to  him  in  chambers. 

It  was  such  a  man  whom  in  1874  the  Democrats  nominated 
for  Governor  of  New  York.  To  say  truth,  it  was  not  thought 
by  those  making  the  nomination  that  he  had  much  chance  to 
win.  He  was  himself  so  much  better  advised  that  months 
ahead  he  prefigured  very  nearly  the  exact  vote.  The  after- 
noon of  the  day  of  election  I  found  him  in  his  library,  con- 
fident and  calm. 

"What  majority  will  you  have?"  he  asked  cheerily. 

"Any,"  I  replied,  having,  of  course,  the  Presidential  nomi- 
nation in  mind. 

"How  about  15,000?" 

"Quite  enough." 

"25,000?" 

"Still  better." 

"The  majority,"  he  said,  "will  be  a  little  in  excess  of 
50,000."  It  was  53»3i5-  His  estimate  was  not  guesswork. 
He  had  organized  his  campaign  by  school  districts.     His 

131 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

canvass  system  was  perfect,  his  canvassers  were  as  pene- 
trating and  careful  as  census-takers.  He  had  before  him 
reports  from  every  voting  precinct  in  the  State.  They  were 
corroborated  by  the  official  returns.  He  had  defeated  Gen- 
eral John  A.  Dix,  thought  to  be  invincible,  by  a  majority 
very  nearly  the  same  as  that  by  which  Governor  Dix  had 
been  elected  two  years  before. 

There  was  great  rejoicing  that  night  at  the  Manhattan 
Club.  The  Club  had  a  right  to  claim  its  share  of  the  glory, 
which  was  all  the  more  grateful  because  it  was  unexpected. 
Mr.  Tilden  was  no  rabble-rouser.  He  kept  alike  his  secrets 
and  his  counsels.  He  had  not  proclaimed  the  impending 
victory  from  the  house-tops.  But  let  us  draw  the  curtain 
and  leave  the  braves  at  the  corner  of  Fifth  Avenue  and  Fif- 
teenth Street  to  their  unrestrained  conviviality. 

in 

The  time  and  the  man  had  met.  Although  Mr.  Tilden  had 
not  before  held  administrative  office,  he  was  ripe  and  ready 
for  the  work  to  be  done.  His  experience  in  the  pursuit  and 
overthrow  of  the  Tweed  Ring  in  New  York,  the  great  me- 
tropolis, had  prepared  and  fitted  him  to  deal  with  the  Canal 
Ring  at  Albany,  the  State  capital.  Administrative  reform 
was  now  uppermost  in  the  public  mind,  and  here  in  the  Em- 
pire State  of  the  Union  had  come  to  the  head  of  affairs  a  chief 
magistrate  at  once  exact  and  exacting,  deeply  versed  not 
only  in  legal  lore,  but  in  a  knowledge  of  the  men  through 
whom  and  the  methods  by  which  political  power  was  being 
turned  to  private  profit.  There  were  Democrats  as  well  as 
Republicans  among  those  preying  upon  the  substance  of  the 
people. 

The  story  of  the  two  years  that  followed  relates  to  inves- 
tigations that  investigated,  to  prosecutions  that  convicted, 
to  the  overhauling  of  the  civil  fabric  and  the  rehabilitation 

132 


L'ENVOI 

of  popular  censorship,  to  reduced  estimates  and  lower  taxes. 
The  Manhattan  Club  supported  these  manfully.  It  saw  in 
them  the  realization  of  the  objects  which  had  called  it  into 
being. 

The  campaign  for  the  Presidential  nomination  began  as 
early  as  the  autumn  of  1875.  The  Southern  end  of  it  was 
easy  enough.  A  committee  of  Southerners  residing  in  New 
York,  most  of  them  members  of  the  Club,  was  formed. 
Never  a  leading  Southern  man  came  to  town  who  was  not 
"seen."  If  of  enough  importance,  he  was  shown  around  to  15 
Gramercy  Park.  Be  sure  he  next  turned  up  at  the  corner  of 
Fifteenth  Street  and  Fifth  Avenue. 

Mr.  Tilden  measured  up  to  the  Southern  standard  of  the 
gentleman  in  politics.  He  impressed  the  disfranchised 
Southern  leaders  as  a  statesman  of  the  old  order,  and  alto- 
gether after  their  own  idea  of  what  a  President  ought  to  be. 
The  South  came  to  St.  Louis,  the  seat  of  the  National  Con- 
vention, represented  by  its  foremost  citizens  and  almost  a 
unit  for  the  Governor  of  New  York.  The  main  opposition 
sprang  from  Tammany  Hall,  of  which  John  Kelly  was  then 
the  chief.  Its  very  extravagance  proved  an  advantage  to 
Tilden.  Two  days  before  the  meeting  of  the  convention  I 
sent  this  message  to  Gramercy  Park,  "Tell  Blackstone"  (his 
favorite  among  his  horses  and  a  Kentuckian)  "that  he  wins  in 
a  walk."  The  anti-Tilden  men  put  up  the  Hon.  S.  S.  ("Sun- 
set") Cox  for  temporary  chairman.  It  was  a  clever  move. 
Mr.  Cox,  though  sure  for  Tammany,  was  popular  every- 
where, and  very  much  so  at  the  South.  His  backers  thought 
that  with  him  they  could  count  upon  a  majority  of  the  Na- 
tional Committee. 

The  night  before  the  assembling  Mr.  Tilden's  two  or  three 
leading  friends  on  the  Committee  came  to  me  and  said,  "We 
can  elect  you  chairman  over  Cox,  but  no  one  else."  I  de- 
murred at  once.  "I  don't  know  one  rule  of  parliamentary 
law  from  another,"  I  said.  "We  will  have  the  best  parliamen- 

133 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

tarian  on  the  continent  right  by  you  all  the  time,"  they  said. 
"I  can't  see  to  recognize  a  man  on  the  floor  of  the  conven- 
tion," I  said.  "We  '11  have  a  dozen  men  to  see  for  you,"  they 
replied.  So  it  was  arranged,  and  thus  at  the  last  moment  I 
was  chosen. 

I  had  barely  time  to  write  the  required  "key-note"  speech, 
but  not  to  commit  it  to  memory,  nor  sight  to  read  it  even 
had  I  been  willing  to  adopt  that  mode  of  delivery.  It  would 
never  do  in  such  a  matter  to  trust  to  extemporization.  A 
friend.  Colonel  Stoddard  Johnston,  who  was  familiar  with 
my  rough  penmanship,  came  to  the  rescue.  Concealing  my 
manuscript  behind  his  hat,  he  lined  the  words  out  to  me  be- 
tween the  cheering,  I  having  mastered  a  few  opening  sen- 
tences. 

Luck  was  with  me.  It  went  with  a  bang.  Not  wholly 
without  detection,  however.  The  Indianians,  devoted  to 
Hendricks,  were  very  wroth.  "See  that  fat  man  behind  the 
hat  telling  him  what  to  say,"  said  one  to  his  neighbor,  who 
answered,  "Yes,  and  wrote  it  for  him,  too,  I  '11  be  bound." 

One  might  as  well  attempt  to  drive  six  horses  by  proxy  as 
preside  over  a  National  Convention  by  hearsay.  I  lost  my 
parliamentarian  at  once.  I  just  made  my  parliamentary  law 
as  we  went  along.  Never  before  nor  since  did  any  deliber- 
ative body  proceed  under  manual  so  startling  and  original. 
But  I  delivered  each  ruling  with  a  resonance — it  were  better 
called  an  impudence — which  had  an  air  of  authority.  There 
was  a  good  deal  of  quiet  laughing  on  the  floor  among  the 
knowing  ones — though  I  knew  the  mass  were  as  ignorant  as 
I  was  myself — and,  realizing  that  I  meant  to  be  just  and  was 
expediting  business,  the  Convention  soon  warmed  to  me, 
and,  feeling  this,  I  began  to  be  perfectly  at  home.  I  never 
had  a  better  day's  sport  in  all  my  life. 

One  incident  was  particularly  amusing.  Much  against 
my  will  and  over  my  protest,  I  was  brought  to  promise  that 
Miss  Phoebe  Couzins,  who  bore  a  Woman's  Rights  me- 

134 


L'ENVOI 

morial,  should  at  some  opportune  moment  be  given  the  floor 
to  present  it.  I  foresaw  what  a  row  it  was  bound  to  raise. 
Toward  noon,  when  there  was  a  lull  in  the  proceedings,  I 
said  with  an  emphasis  meant  to  carry  conviction:  "Gentle- 
men of  the  Convention,  Miss  Phoebe  Couzins,  a  represen- 
tative of  the  Woman's  Rights  Association  of  America,  has  a 
memorial  from  that  body,  and,  in  the  absence  of  other  imme- 
diate business,  the  Chair  will  now  recognize  her." 

Then  the  storm  broke  loose.  Instantly,  and  from  every 
part  of  the  hall,  there  arose  cries  of  "No!"  The  opposition 
put  some  heart  into  me.  Many  a  time  as  a  school-boy  I  had 
proudly  declaimed  the  passage  from  John  Home's  tragedy, 
"My  name  is  Norval."  Again  I  stood  upon  "the  Grampian 
hills."  The  committee  was  escorting  Miss  Couzins  down 
the  aisle.  When  she  came  within  the  range  of  my  poor 
vision  I  could  see  that  she  was  a  beauty  and  dressed  to  kill ! 
That  was  reassurance.  Gaining  a  little  time  while  the  hall 
fairly  rocked  with  its  thunder  of  negation,  I  laid  the  gavel 
down,  stepped  to  the  edge  of  the  platform,  and  gave  Miss 
Couzins  my  hand.  As  she  appeared  above  the  throng  there 
was  a  momentary  "Ah,"  and  then  a  lull  broken  by  a  single 
voice :  "Mr.  Chairman,  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order."  leading 
Miss  Couzins  to  the  front  of  the  stage,  I  took  up  the  gavel 
and  gave  a  gentle  rap,  saying,  "The  gentleman  will  take  his 
seat." 

"But,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order,"  he 
vociferated. 

"The  gentleman  will  take  his  seat  instantly,"  I  answered 
in  the  tone  of  one  about  to  throw  the  gavel  at  his  head.  "Na 
point  of  order  is  in  order  when  a  lady  has  the  floor." 

After  that  Miss  Couzins  received  a  positive  ovation,  and,, 
having  delivered  her  message,  retired  in  a  blaze  of  glory. 

Mr.  Tilden  was  nominated  on  the  second  ballot.  The 
campaign  which  followed  proved  one  of  the  most  memorable 
in  our  history.    When  it  came  to  an  end  the  result  showed 

135 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

on  the  face  of  the  returns  196  in  the  Electoral  College,  21 
more  than  a  majority,  and  in  the  popular  vote  4,300,316,  a 
majority  of  264,300  over  Hayes. 

How  this  came  to  be  first  contested  and  then  complicated 
so  as  ultimately  to  be  set  aside  has  been  minutely  related  by 
its  authors. 

The  newspapers  of  the  eighth  of  November,  the  morning 
after  the  election,  both  Republican  and  Democratic,  con- 
ceded an  overwhelming  victory  for  Tilden  and  Hendricks. 
There  was,  however,  a  single  exception.  The  "New  York 
Times"  had  gone  to  press  with  its  first  edition  leaving  the 
result  in  doubt,  though  inclining  toward  the  success  of  the 
Democrats.  In  its  later  editions  this  tentative  attitude  was 
changed  to  the  statement  that  Hayes  lacked  the  vote  only  of 
Florida,  "claimed  by  the  Republicans,"  to  be  sure  of  the 
required  185  votes  in  the  Electoral  College.  The  story  of 
this  surprising  discrepancy  between  midnight  and  daylight 
reads  like  a  chapter  of  fiction. 

After  the  early  edition  of  the  "Times"  had  gone  to  press 
certain  members  of  the  editorial  staff  were  at  supper,  very 
much  cast  down  by  the  returns,  when  a  messenger  brought 
a  telegram  from  Senator  Barnum  of  Connecticut,  finance 
head  of  the  Democratic  National  Committee,  asking  for  the 
"Times's"  latest  news  from  Oregon,  Louisiana,  Florida,  and 
South  Carolina.  Except  for  that  unlucky  telegram,  Tilden 
would  probably  have  been  inaugurated  President  of  the 
United  States. 

The  "Times"  people,  intense  Republican  partisans,  saw  at 
once  an  opportunity.  If  Barnum  did  not  know,  why  might 
not  a  doubt  be  raised?  At  once  the  editorial  in  the  first  edi- 
tion was  revised  to  take  a  decisive  tone  and  declare  the  elec- 
tion of  Hayes.  One  of  the  editorial  council,  Mr.  John  C. 
Reid,  hurried  to  Republican  headquarters  in  the  Fifth  Ave- 
nue Hotel,  which  he  found  deserted,  the  triumph  of  Tilden 
having  long  before  sent  everybody  to  bed.    Mr.  Reid  then 

136 


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L'ENVOI 

sought  the  room  of  Senator  Zachariah  Chandler,  chairman 
of  the  National  Republican  Committee.  While  upon  this 
errand  he  encountered  in  the  hotel  corridor  "a  small  man 
wearing  an  immense  pair  of  goggles,  his  hat  drawn  over  his 
ears,  a  great-coat  with  a  heavy  military  cloak,  and  carrying 
a  gripsack  and  newspaper  in  his  hand."  The  newspaper  was 
the  "New  York  Tribune"  announcing  the  election  of  Tilden 
and  the  defeat  of  Hayes.  The  newcomer  was  Mr.  William 
E.  Chandler,  just  arrived  from  New  Hampshire  and  very 
much  exasperated  by  what  he  had  read. 

Mr.  Reid  had  another  tale  to  tell.  The  two  found  Mr. 
Zachariah  Chandler,  who  bade  them  "leave  him  alone  and  do 
whatever  they  thought  best."  They  did  so  consumingly, 
sending  telegrams  to  Columbia,  Tallahassee,  and  New  Or- 
leans stating  to  each  of  the  parties  addressed  that  the  result 
of  the  election  depended  upon  his  State.  To  these  were  ap- 
pended the  signature  of  Zachariah  Chandler.  Later  in  the 
day.  Senator  Chandler,  advised  of  what  had  been  set  on  foot 
and  its  possibilities,  issued  from  National  Republican  Head- 
quarters this  laconic  message:  "Hayes  has  185  Electoral 
votes  and  is  elected."  Thus  began  and  was  put  in  motion 
the  scheme  to  confuse  the  returns  and  make  a  disputed  count 
of  the  vote. 


IV 

The  day  after  the  election  I  wired  Mr.  Tilden  suggesting 
that,  as  Governor  of  New  York,  he  propose  to  Mr.  Hayes, 
the  Governor  of  Ohio,  that  they  unite  upon  a  committee  of 
eminent  citizens,  composed  in  equal  numbers  of  the  friends 
of  each,  who  should  proceed  at  once  to  Louisiana,  which 
appeared  to  be  the  objective  point  of  greatest  moment  to  the 
already  contested  result.  Pursuant  to  a  telegraphic  corre- 
spondence which  followed,  I  left  Louisville  that  night  for 
New  Orleans.    I  was  joined  en  route  by  Mr.  Lamar  of  Mis- 

137 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

sissippi,  and  together  we  arrived  in  the  Crescent  City  on 
Friday  morning. 

It  has  since  transpired  that  the  Republicans  were 
promptly  advised  by  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Com- 
pany of  all  that  passed  over  its  wires,  and  my  despatches  to 
Mr.  Tilden  were  read  in  Republican  headquarters  at  least  as 
soon  as  they  reached  Gramercy  Park. 

Mr.  Tilden  did  not  adopt  the  plan  of  a  direct  proposal  to 
Mr.  Hayes.  Instead  he  chose  a  body  of  Democrats  to  go  to 
the  "seat  of  war."  But  before  any  of  them  had  arrived, 
General  Grant,  anticipating  what  was  about  to  happen,  ap- 
pointed a  body  of  Republicans  for  the  like  purpose,  and  the 
advance-guard  of  these  appeared  on  the  scene  the  following 
Monday. 

Within  a  week  the  St.  Charles  Hotel  might  have  been  mis- 
taken for  a  caravansary  of  the  national  capital.  Among 
the  Republicans  there  were  John  Sherman,  Stanley  Mat- 
thews, Garfield  and  Evarts,  Logan,  Kelly,  and  Stoughton, 
and  many  others.  Among  the  Democrats,  besides  Lamar 
and  myself,  came  Lyman  Trumbull,  Samuel  J.  Randall,  and 
William  R.  Morrison,  McDonald  of  Indiana,  and  many 
others.  More  or  less  of  personal  intimacy  existed  between 
the  members  of  the  two  groups,  and  the  "entente"  was  quite 
as  unrestrained  as  might  have  existed  between  rival  athletic 
teams.  A  Kentucky  friend  sent  me  a  demijohn  of  what  was 
represented  as  very  old  Bourbon,  and  I  shared  it  with  "our 
friends  the  enemy."  New  Orleans  was  new  to  most  of  the 
"visiting  statesmen,"  and  we  attended  the  places  of  amuse- 
ment, lived  in  the  restaurants,  and  "saw  the  sights,"  as 
though  we  had  been  tourists  in  a  foreign  land  and  not  par- 
tisans charged  with  the  business  of  adjusting  a  Presidential 
election  from  irreconcilable  points  of  view. 

My  own  relations  were  especially  friendly  with  John  Sher- 
man and  James  A.  Garfield,  a  colleague  on  the  Ways  and 
Means  Committee,  and  with  Stanley  Matthews,  who  was  a 

138 


L'ENVOI 

near  kinsman  by  marriage  and  had  stood  as  an  elder  brother 
to  me  from  my  childhood. 

Corruption  was  in  the  air.  That  the  Returning  Board  was 
for  sale  and  could  be  bought  was  the  universal  impression. 
Every  day  some  one  turned  up  with  pretended  authority  and 
an  offer.  Most  of  these  were,  of  course,  the  merest  adven- 
turers. It  was  my  own  belief  that  the  Returning  Board  was 
playing  for  the  best  price  it  could  get  from  the  Republicans, 
and  that  the  only  effect  of  any  offer  to  buy  on  our  part  would 
be  to  assist  this  scheme  of  blackmail. 

The  Returning  Board  consisted  of  two  white  men,  Wells 
and  Anderson,  and  two  negroes,  Kenner  and  Casanave. 
They  were  one  and  all  without  character.  I  was  tempted 
through  sheer  curiosity  to  listen  to  a  proposal  which  seemed 
to  come  directly  from  the  Board  itself,  the  messenger  being 
a  well-known  State  senator.  As  if  he  were  proposing  to  dis- 
pose of  a  horse  or  a  dog,  he  stated  his  errand. 

"You  think  you  can  deliver  the  goods?"  said  I. 

"I  am  authorized  to  make  the  offer,"  he  answered. 

"And  for  how  much?"  I  asked. 

"Two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,"  he  replied. 
"One  hundred  thousand  each  for  Wells  and  Anderson,  and 
twenty-five  thousand  apiece  for  the  niggers." 

To  my  mind  it  was  a  joke.  "Senator,"  said  I,  "the  terms 
are  as  cheap  as  dirt.  I  don't  happen  to  have  the  exact 
amount  about  me  at  this  moment,  but  I  will  communicate 
with  my  principal  and  see  you  later." 

Having  no  thought  of  communicating  with  anybody  or 
seriously  entertaining  such  a  proposal,  I  had  forgotten  the 
incident,  when,  two  or  three  days  after,  my  man  met  me  in 
the  lobby  of  the  hotel  and  pressed  for  a  definite  reply.  I  then 
told  him  I  had  found  I  possessed  no  authority  to  act,  and 
advised  him  to  go  elsewhere. 

It  is  claimed  that  Wells  and  Anderson  did  agree  to  sell, 
were  turned  down  by  Mr.  Hewitt,  and,  their  demands  for 

139 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

cash  refused  by  the  Democrats,  took  their  final  pay  in  pa- 
tronage from  their  own  party.^ 


I  passed  the  Christmas  week  of  1876  in  New  York  with  Mr. 
Tilden.  We  dined  alone  on  Christmas  Day.  The  outlook 
was,  on  the  whole,  cheering.  With  John  Bigelow  and  Man- 
ton  Marble  he  had  been  busily  engaged  compiling  the  data 
for  a  constitutional  battle  to  be  fought  by  the  Democrats  in 
Congress,  maintaining  the  right  of  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives to  concurrent  jurisdiction  with  the  Senate  in  the 
counting  of  the  Electoral  vote,  pursuant  to  an  unbroken  line 
of  precedents  established  by  the  method  of  procedure  in 
every  Presidential  election  between  1793  and  1873. 

There  was  very  great  perplexity  in  the  public  mind.  Both 
parties  were  far  at  sea.  The  dispute  between  the  Democratic 
House  and  the  Republican  Senate  made  for  thick  weather. 
Contests  of  the  vote  of  three  States,  Louisiana,  South  Caro- 
lina, and  Florida — not  to  mention  single  votes  in  Oregon  and 
Vermont — which  presently  began  to  blow  a  gale,  had  already 
spread  menacing  clouds  across  the  political  sky.  Except  Mr. 
Tilden,  the  wisest  among  the  leaders  knew  not  precisely 
what  to  do. 

From  New  Orleans,  the  Saturday  night  succeeding  the 
Presidential  election,  I  had  wired  Mr.  Tilden  detailing  the 
exact  conditions  there  and  urging  active  and  immediate 
agitation.    The  chance  had  been  lost.    I  thought  then,  and  I 

1  At  a  meeting  held  at  Chickering  Hall  on  the  evening  of  November  12,  1891, 
to  sympathize  with  Governor  Nichols's  war  on  the  Louisiana  lottery  system, 
the  late  Abram  S.  Hewitt  was  one  of  the  speakers.  In  the  course  of  his  re- 
marks in  denunciation  of  the  lottery  gambling  in  Louisiana,  Mr.  Hewitt  said: 

"I  can't  find  words  strong  enough  to  express  my  feelings  regarding  this 
brazen  fraud.  This  scheme  of  plunder  develops  a  weak  spot  in  the  government 
of  the  United  States,  which  I  would  not  mention  were  it  not  for  the  importance 
of  the  issue.  We  all  know  that  a  single  State  frequently  determines  the  result 
of  a  Presidential  election.  The  State  of  Louisiana  has  determined  the  result  of 
a  Presidential  election.  The  vote  of  that  State  was  offered  to  me  for  money, 
-and  I  declined  to  buy  it.    But  the  vote  of  that  State  was  sold  for  money  1" 

140 


L'ENVOI 

still  think,  that  the  conspiracy  of  a  few  men  to  use  the  cor- 
rupt Returning  Boards  of  Louisiana,  South  Carolina,  and 
Florida  to  upset  the  election  and  make  confusion  in  Con- 
gress, might,  by  prompt  exposure  and  popular  appeal,  have 
been  thwarted.  Be  this  as  it  may,  my  spirit  was  depressed 
and  my  confidence  discouraged  by  the  intense  quietude  on 
our  side,  sure  that  underneath  the  surface  the  Republicans, 
with  resolute  determination  and  multiplied  resources,  were 
as  busy  as  bees. 

Mr.  Robert  M.  McLane,  later  Governor  of  Maryland  and 
Minister  to  France,  a  man  of  rare  ability  and  large  experi- 
ence who  had  served  in  Congress  and  in  diplomacy  and  was 
an  old  friend  of  Mr.  Tilden,  had  been  at  a  Gramercy  Park 
conference  when  my  New  Orleans  report  arrived,  and  had 
then  and  there  urged  the  agitation  recommended  by  me.  He 
was  now  again  in  New  York.  When  a  lad  he  had  been  in 
London  with  his  father,  Lewis  McLane,  then  American 
Minister  to  the  Court  of  St.  James,  during  the  excitement 
over  the  Reform  Bill  of  1832.  He  had  witnessed  the  popular 
demonstrations  and  been  impressed  by  the  direct  force  of 
public  opinion  upon  law-making  and  law-makers.  An 
analogous  situation  had  arisen  in  America.  The  Repub- 
lican Senate  was  as  the  Tory  House  of  Lords.  We  must 
organize  a  movement  such  as  had  been  so  effectual  in  Eng- 
land. Obviously,  something  was  going  amiss  with  us,  and 
something  had  to  be  done. 

It  was  agreed  that  I  should  return  to  Washington  and 
make  a  speech,  "feeling  the  pulse"  of  the  country  with  the 
suggestion  that  there  should  assemble  in  the  national 
capital  "a  mass  convention  of  at  least  one  hundred  thou- 
sand peaceful  citizens,"  exercising  "the  freeman's  right  of 
petition." 

The  idea  was  one  of  many  proposals  of  a  more  drastic 
kind,  and  the  merest  venture.  I  myself  had  no  great  faith  in 
it.    But  I  prepared  the  speech,  and  after  much  reading  and 

141 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

revising  it  was  held  by  Mr.  Tilden  and  Mr.  McLane  to  cover 
the  case  and  meet  the  purpose.  Mr.  Tilden  wrote  Mr.  Ran- 
dall a  letter,  carried  to  Washington  by  Mr.  McLane,  in- 
structing him  what  to  do  in  the  event  that  the  popular 
response  should  prove  favorable. 

Alack-the-day!  The  Democrats  were  equal  to  nothing 
affirmative.  The  Republicans  were  united  and  resolute.  I 
delivered  the  speech,  not  in  the  House,  as  had  been  intended, 
but  at  a  public  meeting  which  seemed  opportune.  The 
Democrats  at  once  set  about  denying  the  sinister  purpose 
ascribed  to  it  by  the  Republicans,  who,  fully  advised  that  it 
had  emanated  from  Gramercy  Park  and  came  by  authority, 
started  a  counter-agitation  of  their  own. 

I  was  made  the  target  for  every  manner  of  ridicule  and 
abuse.  Nast  had  a  grotesque  cartoon  which  was  both  offen- 
sive and  libellous.  Being  on  friendly  terms  with  the  Harpers, 
I  made  my  displeasure  so  resonant  in  Franklin  Square — 
Nast  himself  having  no  personal  ill-will — that  a  curious  and 
pleasing  opportunity  which  came  to  pass  was  taken  to  make 
amends.  A  son  having  been  born  to  me,  "Harper's  Weekly" 
contained  an  atoning  cartoon  representing  the  child  in  its 
father's  arms,  and  beneath  the  legend,  "The  only  one  of  the 
one  hundred  thousand  in  arms  who  came  when  he  was 
called." 

For  many  years  afterward  this  unlucky  speech — or  rather 
the  misinterpretation  given  it  alike  by  friend  and  foe — pur- 
sued me.  Nast's  first  cartoon  was  accepted  as  a  faithful 
portrait,  and  I  was  accordingly  satirized  and  stigmatized, 
although  no  thought  of  violence  had  ever  entered  my  mind, 
and  in  the  final  proceedings  I  had  voted  for  the  Electoral 
Commission  Bill  and  faithfully  stood  by  its  decisions.  Joseph 
Pulitzer,  who  immediately  followed  me  on  the  occasion 
named,  declared  that  he  wanted  my  "one  hundred  thousand" 
to  come  fully  armed  and  ready  for  business,  yet  was  never 
taken  to  task  or  reminded  of  his  temerity. 

142 


TTTT?    mA% 


dali  '-i  it. 


At- 


started  a  c; 


Oi; 


0}  ^ 
^  o 


su«d  3  tirst  cartoon  was  accepted  as 


3.  Joseph 

ateiy  i 


L'ENVOI 

VI 

But  a  truce  to  historic  detail.  The  untoward  events  that 
followed  do  not  properly  belong  to  this  narrative.  Let 
us  return  to  the  Club  and  the  personality  of  its  most  cele- 
brated member.  As  I  have  said,  Mr.  Tilden*s  "blue  seal" 
Johannisberger  was  very  famous.  I  recall  a  dinner  he  gave 
Lord  Houghton  at  the  Club,  when  that  delightful  bon  vi- 
vant,  man-of-the-world,  and  poet  was  a  visitor  in  America 
and  he  was  Governor  of  New  York.  The  Club  cellar  was 
justly  celebrated,  and  it  furnished  the  awful  succession  and 
prodigal  variety  of  rare  and  costly  wines  usual  to  the  semi- 
barbaric  banquets  of  a  day  that  is  happily  gone  forever. 
Toward  the  close  the  glasses  were  changed  and  the  Club 
butler  appeared  with  an  air  of  superiority  almost  regal. 
"Lord  Houghton,"  said  Manton  Marble,  who  sat  next  his 
lordship,  "Governor  Tilden  has  a  vineyard  in  Minnesota 
which  his  friends  think  very  well  of,  and  he  is  going  to  ask 
your  opinion."  I  sat  directly  opposite  and  could  see  the 
suppressed  grimace  with  which  the  most  knowing  and  fas- 
tidious of  gourmets  prepared  to  deliver  a  diplomatic  judg- 
ment upon  a  presumably  raw  product  of  Yankee  ignorance 
and  vanity.  The  wine  was  poured.  The  old  Lord  lifted  his 
glass.  As  it  reached  the  half-way  point  between  the  table 
and  his  nose,  and  he  caught  the  aroma,  he  paused,  put  the 
wine  slowly  to  his  lips,  and  with  perfect  but  all-embracing 
composure  said:  "I  think  the  Governor  has  reason  to  con- 
gratulate himself  upon  his  vineyard." 

There  is  yet  another  story  to  be  told  of  the  "blue  seal." 
It  has  to  do  with  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1876.  Indiana 
had  become  the  storm-centre.  In  those  days  there  was  an 
October  vote  and  a  State  election,  a  month  in  advance  of  the 
National  election.  Both  parties  made  this  their  objective 
point;  the  party  that  carried  the  first  election  was  likely  to 
carry  the  second.    The  electoral  votes  of  Indiana  and  New 

143 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

York,  with  those  of  the  "Solid  South,"  gave  the  Democrats 
the  Electoral  College.  We  were  sure  of  New  York;  we  were 
sure  of  the  Solid  South;  Indiana  was  the  missing  "link." 

About  the  middle  of  September  I  was  called  to  Indianapo- 
lis by  the  chairman  of  the  Democratic  State  Committee. 
Three  weeks  later  the  October  State  election  would  be  held; 
money  was  indispensable — not  corruption  money;  money 
for  banners  and  bonfires,  for  demonstrations  and  proces- 
sions, for  barbecues  and  orators.  The  Republicans  seemed 
to  have  plenty.  The  Democrats  had  exhausted  their  slender 
local  resources,  and  unless  they  could  get  help  from  the 
National  Committee  the  leaders  felt  that  they  were  lost.  I 
had  a  pocketful  of  railway  annuals,  a  duster,  and  a  straw  hat, 
and  I  took  the  midnight  train  for  New  York.  If  I  expected 
to  get  the  wherewithal  and  return  by  the  next  train, — and 
my  present  memory  is  that  this  was  about  the  size  of  it, — I 
reckoned  decidedly  without  my  host. 

Governor  Tilden  came  down  from  Albany.  He,  Mr. 
Hewitt  (then  chairman  of  the  National  Committee),  Mr. 
Edward  Cooper,  and  myself  had  a  number  of  conferences 
extending  from  Thursday  to  Saturday.    Time  was  precious. 

Saturday  afternoon  the  Governor  took  me  back  into  the 
famous  bay-window  overlooking  the  garden  of  the  house  in 
Gramercy  Park. 

Said  he :  "I  have  some  money.  I  am  not  afraid  to  spend  it. 
But  don't  you  think  it  a  little  unusual  to  expect  so  much  of 
the  candidate?" 

"No,  Governor,"  I  promptly  replied,  "I  do  not.  On  the 
representation  that  money  would  not  be  wanting,  we  got  the 


nomination." 


He  took  three  lengths  of  the  room,  came  back  into  the  lit- 
tle vestibule  connecting  with  the  library,  that  served  also  for 
a  dining-room,  where  Hewitt  and  Cooper  were  anxiously 
waiting,  and  in  that  peculiar  half-nasal  voice  of  his,  part 
peremptory  and  part  querulous,  he  said : 

144 


L'ENVOI 

"How  much  do  you  require?" 

"Sixty  thousand  dollars,"  I  said. 

"You  don't  want  it  all  at  once?"  said  he. 

"No,  twenty  thousand  next  Monday,  twenty  thousand  the 
Monday  after,  and  twenty  thousand  the  Monday  before  the 
October  vote!" 

"Will  you  take  it?" 

"No." 

"Why?" 

"Because  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  it.  I  am  here  to  tell 
you  the  facts.  I  am  not  a  money-handler.  Of  course  I  won't 
have  anything  else  to  do  with  it." 

"How  will  Barnum  do?" 

"The  very  man." 

Mr.  Barnum  was  in  Indianapolis  the  next  Monday  morn- 
ing. It  will  be  recalled  that  later  on  he  was  authorized  to 
"buy  seven  more  mules." 

We  carried  the  October  vote  "hands  down,"  and  likewise 
the  November  vote.  But  upon  that  particular  visit  my 
tribulation  was  by  no  means  over.  The  Governor  had  uses 
for  me  in  New  York.  In  vain  I  pleaded  my  own  affairs.  In 
vain  I  pleaded  imperative  speaking  appointments.  He 
would  take  no  excuses.  From  the  warm  days  of  September 
into  the  cool  days  of  October  he  detained  me — kept  me  busy, 
too.  He  had  a  number  of  hats  and  overcoats,  and  I  had  ap- 
propriated a  hat  and  an  overcoat  as  the  weather  changed. 
Finally  he  consented  to  let  me  go.  The  last  night  I  came 
into  the  cozy  old  library-dining-room  and  found  him  alone 
with  Manton  Marble. 

"Governor,"  said  I,  "you  have  treated  me  worse  than  a 
stepson  or  a  poor  relation.  You  have  kept  me  here  three 
weeks  on  your  own  business.  You  have  loaned  me  an  old 
overcoat  and  an  old  hat.  If  you  had  had  the  least  style  about 
you,  you  would  have  presented  me  with  new  ones.  I  leave 
these  with  Louis."    (Louis  was  the  valet.) 

145 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

"Oh,  don't  do  that!"  he  exclaimed.  "Wear  them  home 
and  send  them  back  by  the  sleeping-car  porter.  Those  Pull- 
man porters  are  perfectly  reliable." 

"Governor  Tilden,"  said  I,  sternly  and  with  reproach  in 
every  word,  "when  I  get  on  the  train  I  shall  not  need  them. 
When  I  get  home  I  shall  find  my  own.  But  I  '11  tell  you  what 
I  '11  do.  If  you  will  send  down  for  a  bottle  of  the  *blue  seal* 
for  Marble  and  me,  I  '11  forgive  you  and  call  the  account 
square." 

He  was  a  dear  old  body  as  ever  lived.  He  loved  his  friends 
to  take  liberties  with  his  hospitality.  David,  the  butler,  the 
most  imposing  person  then  resident  in  or  near  Gramercy 
Park,  was  standing  at  the  sideboard. 

"Why,  certainly,"  said  Mr.  Tilden;  and,  turning  to  the 
butler,  he  added,  "David,  go  down  and  bring  Mr.  Watterson 
a  bottle  of  the  *blue  seal.' " 

David,  who  knew  his  business,  hesitated. 

"Henry,"  said  Mr.  Tilden,  "do  you  know  that  I  consider 
that  Steinberger  Cabinet  every  bit  as  good  as  the  *blue  seal'? 
Sometimes  I  think  it  better.  But  you  can  have  whichever 
you  please." 

I  answered  that,  if  I  might  have  my  choice,  I  would  take 
the  "blue  seal."  The  end  of  it  was  that  we  had  both ;  first  the 
"blue  seal"  Johannisberger  and  then  the  Steinberger  Cabinet, 
and  I  am  bound  to  allow  that  there  was  precious  little  differ- 
ence between  them — both  the  rarest  of  German  wines  and 
the  best.  The  Governor,  Manton  Marble,  and  I  sat  for  an 
hour  or  more  over  those  two  bottles,  and  had  a  deal  of 
friendly  talk.  The  Governor,  in  particular,  glowed  under 
the  influence  of  the  fragrance,  and  Marble,  the  most  agree- 
able of  men,  was  in  his  best  mood  and  vein.  We  were  "three 
of  a  kind."  At  last,  in  a  moment  of  assxirance  and  exuber- 
ance. Marble  said : 

"And,  Governor,  what  are  we — Watterson  and  I — to  have 
when  you  come  into  your  kingdom?" 

146 


L'ENVOI 

I  shall  never  forget — for  I  happened  to  look  directly  at 
him — the  expression  that  came  over  the  face  of  our  delight- 
ful "Uncle  Samuel"!  He  was  a  little  flushed  by  the  wine. 
His  bright  eyes  were  a  trifle  brighter.  With  a  half-humor- 
ous, half-shy  expression — an  affectation  with  him,  for  his 
was  a  direct  and  an  open  nature — he  said  with  deliberation 
and  epigrammatic  stress :  "You  boys  don't  want  any  offices. 
They  would  do  you  more  harm  than  good.  What  you  really 
want  is  big  influence  with  the  administration." 

To  me,  at  the  moment,  what  he  said  had  no  significance. 
I  weis  a  young  member  of  Congress  for  an  emergency,  who 
could  not  afford  to  stay  in  public  life.     My  professional 
world,  which  was  yet  in  issue,  quite  sufficed  me,  and  I  was 
not  dreaming  of  office.   The  bottles  were  empty.    We  passed 
into  the  corridor.    The  old  gentleman  went  with  us  and  saw 
us  out  of  the  great  storm-door.    As  he  closed  this.  Marble 
said  to  me : 
"Watterson,  did  you  hear  what  that  old  devil  said?" 
"No,"  I  answered  innocently.    "What  about?" 
"Why,  about  no  office,  but  big  influence  with  his  adminis- 
tration.   Do  you  know — blank  blank  him! — that  he  meant 
every  word  of  it?" 

It  was  too  good  to  keep.  After  all  was  over,  after  the  tur- 
bulence of  the  succeeding  Congress,  after  the  Electoral 
Commission,  after  the  exclusion,  the  funny  incident  recurred 
to  me,  and  during  some  moments  of  effusion  and  confidence 
it  escaped  me.  And,  somehow,  it  got  to  the  ears  of  Governor 
Tilden.  And  one  evening  at  Greystone,  with  a  party  of 
friends,  the  Governor  turned  to  me  and  said,  "Tell  us  the 
story  of  the  *blue  seal.' "   And,  as  here  related,  I  told  it 

VII 

Mr.  Tilden  accepted  the  result  of  the  Electoral  Tribunal  of 
1877  with  equanimity.     "I  was  at  his  house,"  says  John 

147 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

Bigelow,  "when  his  exclusion  was  announced  to  him,  and 
also  on  the  fourth  of  March,  when  Mr.  Hayes  was  inaugu- 
rated, and  it  was  impossible  to  remark  any  change  in  his 
manner,  except  perhaps  that  he  was  less  absorbed  than  usual 
and  more  interested  in  current  affairs."  His  was  an  in- 
tensely serious  mind;  and  he  had  come  to  regard  the  Presi- 
dency rather  as  a  burden  to  be  borne,  an  opportunity  for 
public  usefulness,  involving  a  life  of  constant  toil  and  care, 
than  as  occasion  for  personal  exploitation  and  rejoicing. 

However  much  of  captivation  the  idea  of  the  Presidency 
may  have  had  for  him  when  he  was  first  named  for  the  office, 
I  cannot  say,  for  he  was  as  unexultant  in  the  moment  of  vic- 
tory as  unsubdued  in  the  hour  of  defeat;  but  it  is  certainly 
true  that  he  gave  no  sign  of  disappointment  to  any  of  his 
friends.  He  lived  nearly  ten  years  after,  in  a  noble  home- 
stead called  Greystone,  which  he  had  purchased  for  himself, 
overlooking  the  Hudson  River,  the  same  ideal  life  of  the 
scholar  and  gentleman  he  had  passed  in  Gramercy  Park. 

Looking  back  over  these  untoward  and  sometimes  mysti- 
fying events,  I  have  often  asked  myself  was  it  possible,  with 
the  elements  what  they  were  and  he  himself  what  he  was,  to 
seat  Mr.  Tilden  in  the  office  to  which  he  had  been  elected. 
The  missing  ingredient  in  a  character  intellectually  and 
morally  great,  and  a  personality  far  from  unimpressive,  was 
the  touch  of  the  dramatic  discoverable  in  most  of  the  leaders 
of  men :  even  in  such  leaders  as  William  of  Orange  and  Louis 
XI,  as  Cromwell  and  Washington. 

There  was  nothing  spectacular  about  Mr.  Tilden.  Not 
wanting  the  sense  of  humor,  he  seldom  indulged  it;  nor  posi- 
tivity  of  opinion  and  amplitude  of  knowledge,  yet  always 
courteous  and  deferential  in  debate.  He  had  none  of  the 
audacious  daring,  let  us  say,  of  Mr.  Blaine,  the  energetic 
self-assertion  of  Mr.  Roosevelt.  Either,  in  his  place,  would 
have  carried  all  before  him. 

A  character  further  from  that  of  a  subtle  schemer  sitting 

148 


L'ENVOI 

behind  his  screen  and  pulling  his  wires — which  his  political 
and  party  enemies  discovered  him  to  be  as  soon  as  he  began 
to  get  in  the  way  of  the  machine  and  obstruct  the  march  of 
the  self-elect — it  would  be  hard  to  find.  His  confidences  were 
not  effusive  nor  their  subjects  numerous.  His  deliberation 
was  unfailing,  and  sometimes  carried  the  idea  of  indecision, 
not  to  say  actual  love  of  procrastination.  But  in  my  experi- 
ence with  him  I  found  that  he  generally  ended  where  he  be- 
gan, and  it  was  nowise  difficult  for  those  whom  he  trusted  to 
divine  the  bias  of  his  mind  where  he  thought  it  best  to  re- 
serve its  conclusions.  I  do  not  think  that  in  any  great  affair 
he  ever  hesitated  longer  than  the  gravity  of  the  case  required 
for  a  prudent  man,  or  that  he  had  a  preference  for  delays,  or 
that  he  climg  over-tenaciously  to  both  horns  of  the  dilemma, 
as  his  professional  training  and  instinct  might  have  led  him 
to  do,  and  certainly  did  expose  him  to  the  accusation  of 
doing. 

He  was  a  philosopher  and  took  the  world  as  he  found  it. 
He  rarely  complained  and  never  inveighed.  He  had  a  dis- 
criminating way  of  balancing  men's  good  and  bad  qualities 
and  of  giving  each  the  benefit  of  a  generous  accounting,  and 
a  just  way  of  expecting  no  more  of  a  man  than  it  was  in  him 
to  yield.  As  he  got  into  deeper  water  his  stature  rose  to  its 
level,  and,  from  his  exclusion  from  the  Presidency  in  1877  to 
his  renunciation  of  public  affairs  in  1884,  and  his  death  in 
1886,  his  walks  and  ways  might  have  been  a  study  for  all 
who  would  learn  life's  truest  lessons  and  know  the  real 
sources  of  honor,  happiness,  and  fame. 

VIII 

Robert  C.  Hutchings  was  in  the  seventies  one  of  the  gayest, 
most  brilliant,  and  conspicuous  members  of  the  Manhattan 
Club.  He  was  surrogate  of  New  York  County,  at  that  time, 
except  the  sheriff,  quite  the  richest  pa5dng  office  within  the 

149 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

popular  gift.  Being  a  son-in-law  of  Richard  Connolly,  next 
to  Tweed  the  chief  of  the  Tammany  Ring  which  Mr.  Tilden 
had  driven  from  power,  he  could  not,  Mr.  Tilden  being  now 
governor  and  party  leader,  hope  to  run  for  re-election. 

One  morning,  newly  arrived  in  town,  as  I  was  entering  the 
Club  I  met  "Bob"  Hutchings  coming  out.  According  to  his 
custom,  he  greeted  me  warmly.  Douglas  Taylor  joined  us 
as  we  stood  upon  the  stoop.  "Boys,"  said  Hutchings,  "I 
want  you  to  join  me  at  dinner  this  evening  at  seven,  to  meet 
my  dear  friend,  Mr.  Van  Schaick." 

"And  who  is  Mr.  Van  Schaick?"  I  asked. 

"He  is  one  of  my  deputies  who  has  just  been  nominated  to 
succeed  me,"  he  answered,  "and  I  particularly  want  you  to 
meet  him  and  tell  him  you  don't  think  he  ought  to  accept 
the  nomination." 

"Why,  what  in  thunder  have  I  to  do  with  it?" 

Robert  was  a  humorist  and  something  of  a  dramatist,  and 
with  an  air  of  finality  he  said,  "That  is  my  business.  I  give 
you  and  Douglas  here  a  good  dinner.  You  tell  old  man  Van 
Schaick  not  to  run  for  surrogate.  That  is  all.  Is  it  a 
whack?" 

To  be  sure  it  was.  Mr.  Van  Schaick  appeared  to  be  a  most 
amiable  old  gentleman.  The  dinner  was  a  feast  for  a  Bar- 
mecide. The  wines  could  not  be  excelled.  As  the  flow  of 
soul  proceeded,  the  comedy  of  the  situation  took  possession 
of  my  fancy,  and  when  the  opportune  moment  arrived  I  not 
only  told  him  that  in  my  judgment  he  should  decline  the 
nomination  he  had  just  received,  but  I  gave  him  unanswer- 
able reasons  that  shaped  themselves  as  I  proceeded,  though 
knowing  nothing  whatever  about  the  case.  Pen,  ink,  and 
paper  were  sent  for.  Mr.  Van  Schaick  thanked  me  for  my 
counsels,  and  then  and  there  indited  a  note  declining  the 
nomination,  which  was  immediately  despatched  to  the  news- 
papers and  printed  the  next  morning.  The  day  after  the 
same  papers  contained  another  note  csmcelling  the  first  note 

150 


L'ENVOI 

and  accepting  the  nomination.  A  month  later  Mr.  Van 
Schaick  was  elected. 

The  incident  passed  out  of  my  memory.  ,  Ten  years  later, 
however,  as  Hutchings  and  I  were  driving  in  the  Bois  de 
Boulogne,  it  recurred  to  me,  and  I  said,  "Robert,  what  was 
the  meaning  of  the  game  you  got  me  to  sit  in  that  night  at 
the  Manhattan  Club?" 

He  looked  at  me,  a  little  surprised  and  a  little  quizzical. 
"Did  n't  you  know?"  said  he. 

"No,"  I  answered,  truly  enough. 

"Did  n*t  you  suspect?"  he  again  asked. 

"What  had  I  to  suspect?"  said  I. 

"Well,"  and  he  gave  a  long  sigh  of  incredulity,  "you  are 
an  innocent!  I  could  never  have  believed  it  of  you.  The 
nomination  of  old  Van  Schaick,  my  deputy,  took  me  un- 
awares. I  had  not  expected  it.  I  had  made  no  arrangements 
to  meet  it.  I  required  twenty-four  hours.  The  moment  I 
saw  you  a  way  to  these  framed  itself.  I  had  you  for  dinner. 
I  had  Van  Schaick.    Don't  you  see?    You  were  Tilden." 

IX 

In  closing  this  chronicle  of  incidents  and  characters  that  al- 
ready begin  to  fade  in  the  direction  of  shadow-land,  I  cannot 
deny  myself  the  story  of  an  experience  having  to  do  with  the 
old  homestead  purchased  by  the  Manhattan  Club  and  recon- 
structed to  suit  itself,  which  is  now  its  permanent  and  hon- 
ored abode.  Originally  the  residence  of  Leonard  Jerome,  it 
became  in  the  early  sixties  the  Union  League  Club,  and  when 
that  rich  and  powerful  organization  was  able  to  buy  a  site 
and  build  a  home  of  its  own,  a  club,  improvised  to  find  Mr. 
Jerome  a  tenant,  and  called  the  Turf  Club,  moved  in.  It  was 
rather  a  queer  conglomeration,  devoted,  as  its  name  implied, 
to  sport.  It  lived  only  two  or  three  years.  After  it  the  Uni- 
versity Club  took  the  house. 

151 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

One  night,  after  a  dinner  party  at  Delmonico*s,  just  across 
the  Square,  Mr.  James  R.  Keene,  enjoying  his  first  fling  as 
"King  of  the  Street" ;  Mr.  Lawrence  R.  Jerome,  and  myself 
— all  members  of  the  Turf,  albeit  no  one  of  us  had  ever  been 
within  its  doors — thought  to  "see  what  it  was  like,"  and,  not 
to  be  out  of  fashion  or  behind  the  procession,  were  presently 
embarked  in  a  game  of  baccarat,  which  the  club  affected  and 
was  trying — vainly,  as  the  issue  proved — to  introduce  to 
New  York.  There  was  an  iron-clad  club  rule — very  neces- 
sary, we  were  assured — against  either  borrowing  or  lending 
in  the  club-house,  and  to  weather  this  restriction  we  had 
pooled  the  inconsiderable  amounts  we  had  in  hand,  playing 
at  first  in  such  luck  that  we  might  have  retired  betimes 
happy,  respectable,  and  rich.  But  at  last  the  inevitable  ar- 
rived, for  poor  Cinderella  overstayed  her  time  and  over- 
played her  means,  and  went  broke — flat  broke — dead  broke. 
When  we  descended  to  the  street  below,  it  was  raining  cats 
and  dogs.  Mr.  Keene  called  a  cabman  from  the  long  line 
in  front,  and  telling  the  man  he  wished  him  to  take  each  of 
us  to  his  destination,  asked  what  would  be  his  charge  for  the 
service. 

"Ten  dollars,"  said  Cabby. 

"All  right,"  said  Keene;  "drive  up." 

"But,"  said  Cabby,  "I  want  my  money  in  advance." 

This  was  a  poser.  "My  friend,"  said  the  "King  of  Wall 
Street,"  "you  ought  to  know  me — I  am  Mr.  Keene — Mr. 
James  R.  Keene — and — " 

"Thunder!"  exclaimed  the  cabman;  "there  's  been  three 
Jeems  R.  Keenes  out  here  to-night,  and  I  ain't  able  to  tell 
which  from  t'other!" 

Finally  I  induced  Cabby  to  drive  us  to  the  Everett  House 
in  Union  Square,  my  own  abiding-place.  There  I  obtained 
the  requisite  ten  dollars  from  the  night  clerk,  and  sent  my 
two  temporarily  impoverished  and  rather  dejected  compan- 
ions home. 

152 


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ithel 

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at  lin*  in  b 

,5       :-inf^  wr- 

o 

happy,  respectable,  ar       ^      But  at  last 

rived,  for  poor 

Cinder^iii^  overv 

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\,  'tJi.-.g  as 


ot 


k^LJ  e<wi.  J  WVi  •-•        «*.».;  ^.' 

James  R.  Keen.  -" 

"Tliuiiderr  <  cabman;  "there  *«  been  three 

J-^"  -iet'c  ii.'  and  I 

in 

tr  ;  the  night  cl  nt  my 

td  rather  dejecte*!  compan^ 


-'Mil   li^/fi«<^:, 


IS' 


L'ENVOI 


X 


"Little  Old  New  York,"  the  show  people  call  it.  Seen  in 
fancy  beyond  a  succession  of  endless  cross-ties,  it  must 
seem  so,  indeed;  though  no  other  city  in  the  world  has  for  its 
sobriquet  any  such  term  of  endearment.  The  "sound  of  Bow 
Bells"  is  merely  an  historic  saying,  not  an  affectionate  re- 
minder of  London;  the  "smell  of  the  asphalt,"  a  rather  un- 
meaning Parisian  epigram.  No  one  ever  heard  the  "Bells," 
while  the  asphalt  may  be  "smelt"  in  many  cities;  but  the 
"Rialto"  and  the  "Great  White  Way";  Fifth  Avenue  and  the 
Park  and  Madison  Square  in  succession  to  the  yet  older 
Izmdmarks  of  fashion  southerly  and  eastward — sacred  to  the 
memory  of  the  Flora  McFlimseys  of  yore — and  Harlem, 
"Maggie  Murphy's  Home,"  no  less  than  that  of  the  Mulligan 
Guards,  shrine  of  the  McSorleys  and  the  Cordelias  of  an  era 
when  a  little  burnt-cork  theatre  was  a  local,  almost  a  na- 
tional institution — never  a  "sky-scraper"  to  distract,  nor  a 
"movie"  to  mislead — Gotham  of  the  seventies,  the  eighties, 
and  the  nineties  will  live  in  legend  as  itself;  none  like  it;  just 
beloved,  plain  "little  old  New  York." 

To  the  men  of  those  days  who  yet  survive  it  must  always 
remain  a  radiant  memory.  Everybody  knew  everybody.  If 
"he"  or  "she"  were  in  town,  the  seeker  had  only  to  wait  long 
enough  about  Delmonico's  or  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel,  or 
upon  any  of  many  street  corners.  The  clubs  were  not  too 
numerous;  nor  the  theatres,  the  restaurants  and  chop- 
houses.  The  Union  League  and  the  Manhattan  led  club  life 
then,  as  they  lead  it  now — the  Century  over-literary,  the 
Lotos  over-cirtistic,  the  University  and  the  Metropolitan  in 
embryo — a  certain  community  both  of  interest  and  feeling 
permeating  all  memberships,  which  the  expanding  condi- 
tions of  a  world  centre  are  fast  dissipating.  The  pretty  pro- 
vincialism of  Murray  Hill  is  going — going — gone.  The 
picturesque  long  since  disappeared  from  Swelldom.    Wall 

153 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 

Street,  that  melancholy  cul-de-sac  which  takes  its  start  out 
from  a  churchyard  to  end  in  a  deep  and  mighty  stream, — yet, 
like  King  Cole,  "a  jolly  old  soul," — has  become  a  ruler  of 
finance,  lending  to  nations  and  underwriting  empires;  a 
grand  seigneur,  disdaining  the  antics  which  once  distin- 
guished the  money  devil,  to  hold  the  "ignobile  vulgus"  at 
arm's  length.  The  ghosts  of  Jim  Fisk  and  old  Daniel  Drew, 
of  Gould  and  Sage,  walking  under  the  shadow  of  the  spire  of 
Trinity,  would  see  many  changes  and  encounter  people  even 
queerer  than  themselves ;  though  the  "Commodore,"  who  in 
life  knew  what  he  was  about  and  planned  a  century  ahead, 
might,  revisiting  the  glimpses  of  the  moon,  turn  about  eind 
say,  "Did  I  not  tell  you  so?"  It  seems  but  yesterday  that  he 
sat  playing  whist  in  the  Manhattan  Club,  with  Ben  Wood 
for  a  partner,  the  Belmonts,  the  Wards,  and  the  Schells  as 
onlookers — one  of  them  now  and  again  sitting  in  the  game. 
Memory  as  she  flies  may  take  but  a  kodak  snap,  yet  it  has 
a  character  all  its  own;  and  it  is  something  not  wholly  lost 
to  the  present  to  be  able  to  catch  from  the  past  even  the 
faintest  aroma  of  those  days,  and  to  murmur  as  the  curtain 
falls: 

"The  gaits  we  have  gone  without  tiring. 

The  songs  that  together  we  Ve  sung; 
The  jests  to  whose  merry  inspiring 

Our  mingling  of  laughter  hath  rung; 
Oh,  trifles  like  these  become  precious. 

When  seen  through  the  vista  of  years. 
And  the  smiles  of  the  past  so  remembered, 

How  often  they  waken  our  tears!" 


SUBSCRIBERS 

TO  THE  COMMEMORATIVE  VOLUME  OF 

THE  FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  OF 

THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 


SUBSCRIBERS  TO  THE  COMMEMORATIVE  VOLUME 

OF  THE  FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  OF 

THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 


General  Felix  Agnus 
Thomas  Kennedy  Alford 
Amherst  College 
Anne  Arundel  County  Academy, 

Maryland 
Count  Albert  Apponyi 
Army  and  Navy  Club, 

Washington,  D.  C. 
Edward  C.  Arnold 
William  E.  Baillie 
William  Henry  Baldwin 
Edward  Arthur  Baldwin 
Bankers'  Club  of  America 
Robert  Porter  Barlow 
Barnard  College 
Arthur  L.  Barney 
George  Gordon  Battle 
James  P.  Baxter 
William  J.  Baxter 
August  Belmont 
Carroll  Berry 
J.  J.  Bertschmann 
Louis  Bertschmann 
L.  M.  Bickford 
Franklin  Bien 
Harry  S.  Black 
Dr.  I.  N.  Bloom 
Levi  Bloom 
Allen  Robert  Blount 
Scott  C.  Bone 
Charles  H.  Booth 
Charles  A.  Boston 
Luther  Groff  Boyer 


Bowdoin  College 
John  M.  Bowers 
Daniel  M.  Brady 
Blythe  Walker  Branch 
Richard  v.  Briesen 
Michael  Steele  Bright 
Edward  Brinley 
Louise  Roman  Briston 
British  Museum 
Philip  J.  Britt 
Brooklyn  Eagle 
Thomas  H.  Browne 
Charles  Shepard  Bryan 
Colonel  Samuel  Henry  Buck 
James  Buckley 
Arthur  Dryhurst  Budd 
A.  W.  Buhlmann 
James  Brattle  Burbank, 

Brigadier-General,  U.  S.  A, 
Frederick  Anderson  Burdett 
John  Burke 
William  P.  Burr 
Charles  E.  Bush 
Eugene  L.  Bushe 
David  F.  Butcher 
Joseph  M.  Byrne 
Hartwell  Cabell 
J.  Philip  Cahill 
Santiago  P.  Cahill 
James  Edward  Calhoun 
John  Caldwell  Calhoun 
Calumet  Club 
Henry  Lorillard  Cammann 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 


George  T.  Campbell 
Ferdinand  E.  Canda 
Jacob  A.  Cantor 
William  Buford  Carlile 
Carnegie  Library  of  Atlanta,  Ga. 
Carnegie  Library  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Campbell  Carrington 
Daniel  J.  Carroll 
Catholic  Club 

of  the  City  of  New  York 
Oscar  R.  Cauchois 
Champlain  Valley  Hospital,  N.  Y. 
William  H.  Chesebrough 
William  G.  Chave 
Lewis  Stuyvesant  Chanler 
H.  S.  Chase 
William  Francis  Clare 
Edward  F.  Clark 
John  Proctor  Clark 
Thomas  Benedict  Clarke 
Joseph  I.  C.  Clarke 
Frank  I.  Cobb 
Wilhelm  Coenen 
Daniel  F.  Cohalan 
John  P.  Cohalan 
Bainbridge  Colby 
Charles  H.  Cole 
Carter  Stanard  Cole,  M.D. 
Barron  G.  Collier 
Columbia  University 
Congressional  Library 
M£irtin  Conboy 
Lewis  J.  Conlan 
Thomas  Franklin  Conway 
Thomas  Franklin  Conway, 

Plattsburg,  N.  Y. 
Alfred  A.  Cook 
John  A.  Cook 
Marian  Baldwin  Cooke 
E.  M.  Corbett 

158 


Edward  J.  Cornells 

Cornell  University 

Cosmos  Club,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Janie  Baldwin  Cottin 

John  Watson  Cox 

John  Watson  Cox,  Jr. 

Edwin  Craighead 

William  Crawford 

William  Edmond  Curtis 

James  Breckenridge  Curtis 

Josephus  Daniels. 

J.  Clarence  Davies 

Joseph  P.  Day 

Charles  Willoughby  Dayton 

Charles  Deering 

Dr.  Sigismund  de  Farkashazy 

Michael  John  Degnon 

William  John  Degnon 

John  Delahunty 

C.  L.  Denison 

De  La  Salle  Institute  of  New  York 

Leo  Charles  Dessar 

Thomas  J.  Devine 

William  G.  DeWitt 

M.  H.  de  Young 

Edward  NicoU  Dickerson 

George  Edward  Dickinson 

George  Stebbins  Dickinson 

M.  W.  Dippel 

Joseph  S.  Dobyns 

The  Dobbs  Ferry  Hospital 

Horace  K.  Doherty 

James  Mackie  Donald 

Felix  A.  Donnelly 

Thomas  F.  Donnelly 

Philip  Francis  Donohue 

William  F.  Donohue 

John  R.  Dos  Passos 

Louis  Hays  Dos  Passos 

Daniel  Ellis  Douty 


LIST  OF  SUBSCRIBERS 


Victor  James  Dowling 

Louis  F.  Doyle 

William  L.  Duffy 

Albert  J.  Dufour 

Miss  Marguerite  Duke 

John  Donald  Dunlop 

Lewis  Alexander  Dunham 

Colonel  George  Marshall  Dunn 

James  Dunne 

Frank  J.  Dupignac 

Coleman  du  Pont 

C.  Louis  Duval 

George  R.  Dyer 

Frederick  H.  Ecker 

Robert  Jacob  Edwards 

Louis  J.  Ehret 

John  George  Eisele 

James  William  Ellsworth 

S.  L.  Elzas 

Erie  Club,  Erie,  Pa. 

H.  T.  Eschwege 

Miss  Lena  Cadwalader  Evans 

Anna  Ruth  Everett 

Randall  Wade  Everett 

Sylvester  Thomas  Everett 

Walter  S.  Faddis 

Cardinal  John  M.  Farley 

Daniel  Butler  Fearing 

T.  R.  Fell 

L.  W.  Ferris 

T.  Harvey  Ferris 

Neill  Brooks  Field 

A.  G.  Fisher 

Haley  Fiske 

Ashbel  P.  Fitch 

Ashbel  P.  Fitch,  Jr. 

Dr.  Charles  E.  Fleck 

Charles  M.  Fleischmann 

Robert  Dumont  Footc 

Fordham  University 


Wilson  Perkins  Foss 
Robert  Ludlow  Fowler 
Andrew  Arthur  Eraser 
John  J.  Freedman 
Free  Public  Library 

of  Louisville,  Ky. 
Free  Public  Library 

of  Newark,  N.  J. 
Free  Public  Library 

of  New  Haven,  Conn. 
Free  Public  Library 

of  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
French  Table 
Leonard  F.  Friedcr 
Marcus  Frieder 
Donald  George  Frost 
Elihu  B.  Frost 
Frank  Frost 
Paul  Fuller 
Thomas  E.  Gaghan 
Noel  Gale 
Spencer  H.  Gale 
Lindley  M.  Garrison 
George  Houston  Gaston 
Edward  J.  Gavegan 
Walter  Geer 
Paolino  Gerli 
James  W.  Gerard 
C.  E.  Gilbert 
Henry  A.  Gildersleeve 
John  Parkin  Gilford 
Thomas  Buchanan  Gilford,  Jr. 
Irvin  Van  Gorder  Gillis 
C.  Monteith  Gilpin 
Donald  Newcomer  Gilpin 
Henry  Brooke  Gilpin 
Austin  Gilmour 
William  H.  Goadby 
W.  E.  Gonzales 
William  W.  Gooch 


159 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 


Lee  Ashley  Grace 
Frederick  E.  Grant 
William  Hermann  Graupner 
James  Gray 
Samuel  Greenbaum 
Benedict  J.  Greenhut 
Horace  Warren  Gridley 
Charles  Louis  Guy 
Louis  I.  Haber 
James  Henry  Haggerty 
Bruce  Haldeman 
Walter  N.  Haldeman 
Charles  Comstock  Hale 
Alton  Parker  Hall 
William  Hamersley 
Henry  DeWitt  Hamilton 
Parmly  Hanford 
Solomon  Hanford 
Hanover  Club,  Brooklyn 
Mrs.  M.  W.  Hardy 
George  F.  Harriman 
Francis  Burton  Harrison 
Joseph  M.  Hartfield 
Harvard  University 
William  Elton  Hawkins 
Rt.  Rev.  Patrick  J.  Hayes 
William  Tyson  Hayward 
George  H.  Hazen 
Edward  L.  Hearn 
Will  T.  Hedges 
George  Jacob  Helmer 
David  Heller 
Victor  Herbert 
D-Cady  Herrick 
Clarence  S.  Herter 
Capt.  Gustav  Herter 
Edward  Arthur  Hill 
James  Jerome  Hill 
James  Norman  Hill 
Walker  Hill 


William  Henry  Hirsh 
William  H.  Hirsh 
John  Hoerle 
William  Myers  Hoes 
John  Burt  Holmes 
John  Patrick  Hopkins 
Dr.  Frank  Horn 
Clark  Howell 
Allen  Gray  Hoyt 
Walter  Priestly  Hudson 
George  Murray  Hulbert 
Chapman  H.  Hyams 
Phoenix  Ingraham 
B.  Richmond  Jacobs 
Ollie  M.  James 
Arthur  R.  Jarrett,  M.D. 
Thomas  Jefferson  Club 

of  Chicago,  111. 
George  C.  Jenkins 
Lovell  H.  Jerome 
William  H.  Johns 
Alfred  J.  Johnson 
Miss  Almina  Johnson 
Frank  Verner  Johnson 
Rienzi  Melville  Johnston 
John  M.  Jones 
William  App  Jones 
Louis  H.  Junod 
Richard  Kalish 
Count  Michael  Karolyi 
Daniel  P.  Kinder 
James  Keeley 
Grant  S.  Kelley 
Grant  S.  Kelley,  Jr. 
L.  Laflin  Kellogg 
E.  J.  Kelly 
Mitchell  Kennerley 
Frederic  Kemochan 
Frank  R.  Kent 
William  Klein 


1 60 


LIST  OF  SUBSCRIBERS 


Joseph  Palmer  Knapp 
Samuel  Knopf 
Alexander  Konta 
Arnold  Konta 
Geoffrey  Konta 
Alfred  Kreymborg 
Theodore  H.  Lamprecht 
George  M.  Landers 
Franklin  K.  Lane 
Cornelius  Lauritzen 
David  Thomas  Leahy 
A.  E.  L.  Leckie 
Irving  Lehman 
Frederick  W.  Lehmann 
William  B.  Leonard 
Library  of  "The  Brook" 
Theodore  Earl  Linsley 
Arthur  Lipper 
Martin  W.  Littleton 
Martin  W.  Littleton,  Jr. 
Rosswell  Canedine  Lockman 
L.  F.  Loree 
Joseph  Lockman 
Herbert  Dean  Lounsbury 
John  Haviland  Love 
Charles  E.  Lydecker 
Will  Hartwell  Lyford 
Edgar  Allan  Lynn 
Ethel  De  Valcourt  Ljmn 
Harry  H.  Lyim 
John  Lynn 

William  Harcourt  Lynn 
John  V.  McAvoy 
Edward  E.  McCall 
Gardiner  Felch  McCandless 
William  F.  McCombs 
James  Conley  McCoy 
Robert  Samuel  McCreery 
Leslie  T.  McCurdy 
James  Francis  McDonnell 


John  F.  Mclntyrc 

E.  C.  McGarity 

Walter  C.  McGee 

John  Thomas  McGraw 

Sarah  McKenzie 

Chester  B.  McLaughlin 

Arthur  A.  McLean 

John  R.  McLean 

John  D.  McMahon 

William  E.  McReynolds 

Pierre  F.  Macdonald 

Alfred  B.  Maclay 

Augustus  Walker  Maclay 

Eva  Madden 

Dudley  Field  Malone 

Manhattan  Club 

Manhattan  College 

William  D.  Maim 

Rev.  Dr.  William  T.  Manning 

Albert  Marburg 

Otto  Maron 

Edwin  Sprague  Marston 

William  V.  Martin 

John  Alfred  Mason 

Albert  Patton  Massey,  2nd 

Howell  F.  Massey 

Joseph  B.  Mayer 

S.  Stanwood  Menken 

Albert  E.  Merrall 

Herman  A.  Metz 

Arthur  G.  Meyer 

Charles  R.  Miller 

Watterson  Miller 

H.  F.  Mollenhauer 

Thomas  Monahan 

Alphonse  Montant 

John  M.  Moore 

Joseph  F.  Mulqueen 

Patrick  Francis  Murphy 

John  Joseph  Murphy 


161 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 


Theodore  W.  Myers 

William  R.  Mygatt 

N.  W. 

Ricardo  Narganes 

National  Democratic  Club 

James  A.  Nelson 

Edgar  L.  Newhouse 

New  York  American 

New  York  Club 

New  York  Evening  Post 

New  York  Herald 

New  York  Historical  Society 

New  York  Public  Library 

New  York  State  Library, 

Albany,  N.  Y. 
New  York  Sun 
New  York  Times 
New  York  Tribune 
New  York  World 
William  Nightingale 
Frank  B.  Noyes 
Frank  James  O'Brien 
John  E.  O'Brien 
John  H.  O'Brien 
John  P.  O'Brien 
Morgan  Joseph  O'Brien 
Morgan  Joseph  O'Brien,  Jr. 
Jabez  Theodore  Odell 
James  A.  O'Gorman 
James  A.  O'Gorman,  Jr. 
R.  Morgan  Olcott 
William  Church  Osborn 
General  Harrison  Gray  Otis 
Clarence  Ousley 
Gustavo  Pabst 
Gustave  Pabst,  Jr. 
A.  C.  Palmer 
Arthur  I.  Palmer 
Frank  Loomis  Palmer 
Max  Pam 


Alton  Brooks  Parker 
Frederick  W.  Parker 
Robert  W.  Parsons 
William  E.  Peck 
Joseph  Charles  Pelletier 
F.  K.  Pendleton 
William  N.  Penney 
Conrad  L.  Peters 
John  J.  Phelan 
Phillips  Exeter  Academy 
Henry  Clay  Pierce 
Cornelius  Sidell  Pinkney 
Plattsburg  City  Library 
Plattsburg  Free  Library 
Plattsburg  High  School 
Horace  Franklin  Poor 
James  Harper  Poor 
Ruel  Whitcomb  Poor 
Henry  Staples  Potter 
Mark  W.  Potter    " 
James  M.  Prendergast 
Princeton  Club 
Princeton  University 
Tarrant  Putnam 
Public  Library 

of  Boston,  Mass. 
Public  Library 

of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Public  Library 

of  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Public  Library 

of  Columbus,  O. 
Public  Library 

of  Denver,  Colo. 
Public  Library 

of  Hartford,  Conn. 
Public  Library 

of  Indianapolis,  Ind. 
Public  Library 

of  Kansas  City,  Mo. 


162 


LIST  OF  SUBSCRIBERS 


Public  Library 

of  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 
Public  Library 

of  Milwaukee,  Wis. 
Public  Library 

of  Minneapolis,  Minn. 
Public  Library 

of  New  Orleans,  La. 
Public  Library 

of  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Public  Library 

of  Omaha,  Neb. 
Public  Library 

of  Portland,  Me. 
Public  Library 

of  San  Francisco,  CaL 
Public  Library 

of  Seattle,  Wash. 
Public  Library 

of  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Public  Library 

of  St.  Paul,  Minn. 
Joseph  Pulitzer 

Queen  City  Club,  Cincinnati,  O. 
John  Quinn 
Francis  F.  Randolph 
George  F.  Randolph 
Sylvester  J.  E.  Rawling 
Redwood  Library  of  Newport,  R.  I. 
William  Marion  Reedy 
Robert  J.  Rendall 
Edward  G.  Riggs 
Royal  E.  T.  Riggs 
Samuel  Riker,  Jr. 
Samuel  Riker,  3rd 
Albert  Ritchie 
Samuel  Robert 
Walter  S.  Roberts 
Henry  Scott  Rokenbaugh 
Joseph  Rowan 

163 


Dr.  John  F.  Russell 

John  Barry  Ryan 

John  J.  Ryan 

Thomas  Fortune  Ryan 

Samuel  Sanders 

Willard  Saulsbury 

John  Marbacher  Savage 

Savage  Club,  London,  England 

Edward  Charles  Schaefer 

Rudolph  J.  Schaefer 

Leo  Schlesinger 

Daniel  Schnakenberg 

Louis  A.  Schoefer 

Henry  G.  Scholtz 

Jacob  H.  Schoonmaker 

Robert  J.  F.  Schwarzenbach 

George  Starr  Scofield 

George  Starr  Scofield,  Jr. 

Francis  M.  Scott 

Don  C.  Seitz 

Joseph  Seep 

Louis  Seibold 

J.  S.  Seymour 

Clarence  J.  Sheam 

William  F.  Sheehan 

John  Campbell  Sherlock 

Charles  H.  Sherrill 

Harry  Bruce  Shute,  Jr. 

Jacob  Siegel 

Clifford  Stanley  Sims 

Charles  Waters  Sinnott 

Elijah  P.  Smith 

Henry  E.  Smith 

R.  A.  C.  Smith 

Thomas  F.  Smith 

Herbert  Crommelin  Smyth 

Herbert  C.  Smyth,  Jr.  , 

Murray  O.  Smyth 

Udolpho  Snead 

Lyman  Austin  Spalding 


THE  MANHATTAN  CLUB 


William  McM.  Speer 

Richard  Austin  Springs 

William  C.  Sproul 

Watson  C.  Squire 

Edward  P.  Stahel 

E.  B.  Stahlman 

John  B.  Stanchfield 

Samuel  Stansfield 

State  Library  of  Harrisburg,  Pa. 

State  Library  of  Richmond,  Va. 

George  H.  Stegmann 

Louis  Sterne 

Max  Steuer 

St.  Louis  Mercantile  Library 

Max  Wilhelm  Stohr 

James  Stokes 

E.  Dodge  Stokes,  2nd 

Melville  E.  Stone 

Ralph  Stout 

St.  Paul  Reference  Library 

William  O.  Straehler 

Herbert  N.  Straus 

Charles  Strauss 

Charles  Hamot  Strong 

William  Augustine  Stuart 

Cornelius  J.  Sullivan 

Frederic  J.  Swift 

Lyman  Swift 

Tammany  Society 

Charles  Douglas  Taylor 

General  Charles  H.  Taylor 

Miss  Clara  Taylor 

Marion  Elliott  Taylor 

William  L.  Taylor 

Dr.  Malford  Wilcox  Thewlis 

George  Thompson 

J.  Campbell  Thompson 

J.  Walter  Thompson 

Loren  Ogden  Thompson 

Walter  R.  Thompson 

164 


James  Mcllhenny  Thomson 

Frederick  B.  Tilghman 

Sidell  Tilghman 

P.  Tillinghast 

Albert  Tilt 

John  C.  Tomlinson 

James  ToUputt 

Charles  G.  Trautwein 

William  John  TuUy 

Frederick  Edward  Turner 

Edgar  Abel  Turrell 

Union  Club 

University  Club  of  New  York 

University  of  Chicago 

University  of  Minnesota 

University  of  Notre  Dame 

University  of  Pennsylvania 

University  of  the  City 

of  New  York 
University  of  Virginia 
Samuel  Untermyer 
Simon  Uhlmann 
Joseph  S.  Ulman 
Julien  Stevens  Ulman 
Theodore  N.  Vail 
C.  M.  Van  Hamm 
William  J.  Van  Pelt 
George  W.  Van  Slyck 
William  D.  Van  Vleck 
Adrian  Schade  van  Westrum 
Augustus  Van  Wyck 
Robert  A.  Van  Wyck 
Benjamin  F.  Vaughan 
Thomas  F.  Vietor 
Wa  Wa  Yanda  Club 
Robert  F.  Wagner 
Robert  F.  Wagner,  Jr. 
Alfred  Wagstaff 
Scott  Walker 
William  B.  Walker 


LIST  OF  SUBSCRIBERS 


James  N.  Wallace 
David  I.  Walsh 
WiUiam  I.  Walter 
Charles  J.  Warner 
Eltinge  Fowler  Warner 
P.  Raymond  J.  Warner 
Washington  University 

of  St.  Louis 
Nelson  Jarvis  Waterbury 
Frederic  N.  Watriss 
Henry  Watterson 
Mrs.  Henry  Watterson 
Theodore  Leland  Waugh 
Dc  Witt  Clinton  West 


Smith  M.  Weed 
Edward  G.  Whitaker 
WiUiam  S.  White 
Kenneth  Wilbur 
Kurtz  Wilson 
Woodrow  Wilson 
Thomas  Williams 
Roy  W.  Wingate 
Edmond  E.  Wise 
Charles  Joseph  Wittenberg 
Frederick  Woerz 
Moorehead  Wright 
Yale  Club 
Yale  College 


165 


J. 


V 


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